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Coho salmon off to a good start at South Surrey hatchery

Volunteers say more than half of entire season鈥檚 typical run already logged at Little Campbell site
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DFO officer Art Demsky 鈥 with colleague Jon Hill in the background 鈥 holds one of the salmon that was pulled Oct. 20 from the Little Campbell River for brood stock. Some 40,000 eggs were collected that day. (Contributed photo)

Early arrivals are pointing to a good year for coho salmon returning to spawn in the Little Campbell River which flows through 91原创.

As of end of day Sunday, Oct. 24, some 1,894 fish had been counted by volunteers at the 1284 184th St. hatchery, longtime Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club member Roy Thomson said.

The figure is approximately two-thirds of that seen over the course of the entire last season, which typically peaks for coho in November.

Almost half of the current total was logged the week prior, on Oct. 16.

鈥淏ecause of the early rain in September, the coho have been fairly good so far,鈥 Thomson said last week, when the coho count was at 1,480 following the arrival Oct. 16 of more than 1,000 fish.

鈥淚n a whole year, the average for coho is 2,900. We鈥檝e already got 50 per cent, and we鈥檙e not even into November. The indications are we鈥檙e going to have a good return on coho this year.鈥

Thomson shared the positive news during a conversation prompted by concerns that were raised regarding salmon that appeared to be struggling to get past the hatchery鈥檚 fish fence.

Two people contacted Black Press Media last week to report that salmon 鈥渁re dying all over the place鈥 due to a locked gate that was preventing them from getting upriver.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e smashing into it鈥 killing themselves, basically,鈥 said Harley Goertzen. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 make sense.鈥

Bryan Wilson said he saw 鈥渉undreds鈥 of stuck salmon during an Oct. 17 visit, and that he was told it was as a result of new rules that limit its opening to when someone from DFO is on-site.

But Thomson and Wayne Wagstaff 鈥 who was hatchery director when he spoke to Black Press Media on Oct. 19, but has since left the club 鈥 said the concerns are unfounded; that nothing about hatchery operations has changed, and that volunteers鈥 dedication to give the fish the best chance at survival is as strong as ever.

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To the general public, it may look out of control, Thomson said, 鈥渂ut we know what鈥檚 happening and so does DFO.鈥

鈥淲e try as best we can to get those fish upstream. The people who are doing it are the people who have been doing it for years.鈥

Regarding the closed gates, Thomson said they remain that way throughout spawning season, which runs from early September to early April. The measure guides the fish through a four-inch opening on the fence鈥檚 north end, into a trap where they are held for counting.

He said the trap is blocked off at the end of each counting effort 鈥 which happens whenever fish are running and lasts from a few to several hours each time, depending on the volume 鈥 in order to keep fish that may arrive after each of those efforts downstream until they can be counted.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a problem to hold them,鈥 Thomson noted.

Data on the number, sex and species of each fish has been collected at the hatchery for decades. Thomson described coho numbers seen on Oct. 16 as 鈥渁n exceptional day鈥 for the species this year.

Significant rainfall brought a deluge of the fish up the river, and volunteers spent around 10 hours logging each one of the 1,000-plus.

鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had a day like that in two or three years,鈥 Thomson said.

He said he 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 be surprised鈥 to see another 1,500 coho in the river before their season ends. Some are always set aside for brood stock, and last week, that resulted in the collection and incubation of some 40,000 eggs.

For those interested in taking in the spawning run, Wagstaff said a good viewing point is from the footbridge over the river, and Thomson said the best time to go is the day after a heavy rain. Thomson expects the next influx will come on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 28, or the Friday, depending on when and if rain that is in the forecast arrives.


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Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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91原创

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