Goldstream Hatchery had another successful volunteer appreciation BBQ at Beaver Lake and it couldn't have been made possible without all the wonderful people who helped lend a hand. We enjoyed delicious salmon donated by Marine Harvest, Oysters from Fanny Bay, burgers and hot dogs from Fairway Markets and even home made baked beans! We would also like to thank the Pacific Salmon Foundation for some draw prizes that were graciously accepted by our volunteers. Here are a few pics from the afternoon's festivities.
Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for your countless efforts and dedication to local salmon enhancement. We hope everyone had an enjoyable time at this years BBQ. Until next year!
0 Comments
experiences that, combined with classroom and field studies, serve to develop and maintain a strong environmental ethic. Local funding partners for “Stream to Sea” include volunteer strategic enhancement facilities, public school districts, the Watership Foundation, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Of these, the Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association (GVSEA) is the most significant contributor, largely due to its commitment to the Classroom Incubation Program. Classroom Incubation Program – 120 Liters of a Local Stream Each year, coastal communities witness the return of spawning salmon to local rivers and streams. Before they die, the spawners deposit and fertilize their eggs, then cover them with a protective layer of stream gravel. The development of a new generation, from egg to adult, is more of a mystery than the spawning stage, mostly because the process is hidden beneath the gravel and in the deeper, darker pools of the native stream. The Classroom Incubation Program provides a portal to this early stage of salmonid life. Using a 120 liter aquarium cooled to local stream temperatures, students can incubate up to 200 salmonids in their own classroom or library. A program coordinator brings eyed eggs to the school in January. Students witness the hatching process and begin feeding them once they emerge out of the gravel. Until they are released as fed fry to a local stream in late April or May, students observe and record development and maintain a healthy habitat for their charges. This includes daily monitoring of water temperature and quality.
During the 2015/16 school year, DFO supported classroom incubation projects in 105 classrooms in the Capital Regional District, including the Southern Gulf Islands. The Howard English Hatchery provided eyed eggs for 98 of these projects – a total of 19,600 eggs. GVSEA volunteers also conduct school tours in the fall when they are collecting broodstock, and annually raise funds for participating schools to purchase classroom incubation equipment. For more information on programs or inservice opportunities, please contact Don Lowen, DFO Education Coordinator, at 250-213-8582, or donlowen27@gmail.com. Blog Article By: Don Lowen Photography By: Shawn Kerr (Community Advisor, Fisheries and Oceans Canada) & Don Lowen
"They can swim, they can hide, but fish always leave a trail. Wherever animals roam, they (and we) leave behind a smattering of cells—whether from skin, fur, hair, mucus, or waste. Scientists have learned to detect these genetic calling cards, or “signatures,” to determine whether a species is present in a given ecosystem without ever having to spot an actual animal.
Jeff MacAdams, a Hakai researcher and graduate student at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, is developing a method for using environmental DNA (eDNA) to calculate salmon density in a stream. At his study site, a hatchery along Goldstream River on Vancouver Island, he correlates how many coho salmon in a specific amount of moving water it takes to detect genetic material in a given number of two-liter samples. Out in the field, the equation can be reversed—the researcher can estimate fish abundance based on the number of positive samples. MacAdams is one of a growing number of scientists employing eDNA in their work—researchers recently used eDNA to determine the density of chinook salmon in the Upper Columbia River of Washington and British Columbia, for example, and others are mapping the same species in the Yukon—though this may be the first time eDNA has been applied to coho, a particularly elusive salmon species. Eventually the technique could replace—or at least complement—traditional fish-counting methods. “The real strength is how sensitive it is,” MacAdams says. With eDNA, fewer researchers can monitor more streams, requiring only fragments of cells to quantify even the most evasive of fish. Jeff MacAdams’ research is supported by a grant from the Tula Foundation, which also funds Hakai Magazine. The magazine is editorially independent of the institute and foundation."
Gord More, Shanna Baker, “Counting the Invisible Fish,” Hakai Magazine, December 9, 2015, accessed February 18, 2016, http://bit.ly/1QXnfXz.
Since 1992, the biologist from the Howard English Hatchery has worked with the Friends of Mount Douglas Park Society for its annual salmon carcass toss at Douglas Creek, which sees members plant salmon carcasses in the water to encourage spawning. “It’s like fertilizing the river: the nutrients that are carried in the carcasses of the salmon have been acquired at sea,” said McCully. “They’re called marine-derived nutrients, and they’re what make our streams and rivers so bountiful.” Dozens of volunteers turned out for the salmon toss, along with Saanich councillors Judy Brownoff and Vicki Sanders, and Saanich South MLA Lana Popham. Because of the rainfall on the west coast, McCully said the rain tends to wash out the nutrients from local streams, making them nutrient poor and negatively impacting their ability to support production of the bottom of the food chain. However, with a little help from volunteers, Pacific salmon have a way of overcoming the washout of nutrients and eventually making streams more bountiful. “The fish will come back and spawn once and then it will die,” he said. “All of that carcass is recycled into the food chain, and when the salmon is out at sea and it’s feeding, it accumulates what we call marine-derived nutrients. Things like nitrogen and carbon and phosphorus, and they’re the building blocks of the food chain in fresh water. “That’s why we’re putting dead fish into the stream.” The hatchery provided dozens of carcasses for the event, which gained permission from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to move the salmon between watersheds. Volunteers also released juvenile coho into the creek, which are expected to stay in the creek until May before heading into the ocean and, with any luck, returning to spawn 18 months later. “We did this last year, and we actually had coho come back last fall,” said McCully. “Things are happening, things are working.” While the creek still needs nutrients to build the salmon population, McCully said the combined efforts of the society and the hatchery over the last 24 years have already made a significant impact to Douglas Creek. “In the ensuing years, habitat restoration has been conducted, the water quality has improved to the point it supports fish,” he said. “All of this work, it doesn’t happen overnight – it involves a lot of people, a lot of effort, and in this case, a lot of time. It’s a work in progress. “This is very much evidence of a community initiative that brings people together. It’s really a great showpiece of how volunteer power can make things work.” >> Click on the above image or this link to go to original Saanich News Article. On January 21, 2016 volunteers from the Goldstream Fish Hatchery had the privilege of working in partnership with the people of the Tseycum First Nation, the Victoria Airport Authority, and BC Ministry of transport to return chum and coho salmon to Tseycum Creek. Together, their continued efforts have been to re-establish salmon runs to Tseycum Creek and improve the ecosystems associated with it. About 45000 chum eggs were placed in a fish incubator cassette within the creek, to create the opportunity and increase the chance that they will return as spawning adults. The idea is to have salmon return and continue to spawn for generations to come. Upstream of the chum, about 500 coho salmon fry were released into Tseycum Creek. These coho were large and old enough enough to survive their new home. Hopefully they will return in 18-20 months as spawning adults. In the process of beginning habitat rehabilitation of Tseycum (Wsikem) Creek, through excavating and dredging sediment, the BC Ministry of Transportation (guided by biologist, Sean Wong) discovered evidence of fish weirs used by the Tseycum people to catch salmon. According to people of Tseycum village, the return of spawning Pacific salmon had not been observed for almost twenty-five years. The salmon had been the basis of a local, active fishery: the return of the salmon had been a foundation for diet, livelihood, education, culture and spirit. Beyond their oceanic sojourns, Pacific salmon tend to inhabit freshwater environments built by glaciers, powered by precipitation, housed by forests, and nourished by salmon returning to spawn. A salmon stream may be many thousands of years in the making. Habitat rehabilitation of Tseycum Creek began with the excavation and development of spawning pools, the removal of sediment that would suffocate salmon eggs, the replacement of cobble and gravel to hold salmon eggs, and the re-planting of native flora to prevent erosion and help stabilize creek banks. The habitat rehabilitation and stewardship of Tseycum Creek has been a task undertaken by several parties: Tseycum First Nation; BC Ministry of Transportation; Victoria Airport Authority; Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association (GVSEA). For the last two years, coho salmon fry from the Howard English Goldstream Hatchery have been placed into Tseycum Creek for the purpose of re-building a self-sustaining salmon run. Last year, chum salmon eggs (in a cassette incubator) were placed within a pool of Tseycum Creek for the very same purpose. This year, on January 21st, 2016, about 45000 chum eggs (at 360 accumulated thermal units) and 500 coho fry (nearly 1 year old) were placed in Tysecum Creek. It is the hope of this stewardship project that the young salmon will find a new home in Tysecum Creek. The continued rehabilitation of Tseycum Creek and the restoration of a tragic, historic loss depends on the return of these young salmon as spawning adults. The salmon have returned. Since the Autumn of last year, members of the Tseycum First Nation have participated in the enhancement of chum and coho salmon from the Goldstream river. During this time, they have practiced fishery management assessment techniques, fish husbandry techniques, and stream habitat surveys. It has been a privilege to share these teachings and experiences with Archie Jones and Robert (Bobby) Louie. It is our hope that they continue, and improve on this sharing with others.
As for the results of the Pacific salmon transplant at Tseycum Creek, the ideal return of chum will be 150 mature spawning adults (from the 45000 eggs) in 3-4 years. If successful, the coho salmon fry will be expected to return to Tseycum Creek in 18-20 months. To learn more about Pacific salmon, and other fish, consider a visit to “http://www.fishbase.org/search.php”. Blog Article By: Ben Eardley Intro Text By: Adam Wilson Photography By: Alexandra Scott |
|