Floats in the Columbia River near Revelstoke

[Last Chance]

Was going by Revelstoke yesterday, and there were several orange floats in the Columbia right in front of the town. Any idea what they are for? Apparantly salmon can't get past the damns in the states, that rules out nets, so I was curious of anyone knows what was going on.

 

[clearwaterB]

I was always told that all of the floats that you see are gill nets. Not sure where Revestoke is, but above Bonneville dam I have seen people checking them.

 

[Jockey]

Don't they have fish ladders to get around the damns by now? I would hope they have done something.

 

[Dr Lunk]

When I lived in the kootenays I was told that all the canadian dams and most of the american dams have fish passage on the columbia, however one of the dams near the ocean doesn't so nothing can get by...

 

[Tellyman]

The floats you guys are seeing are for tracking sturgeon. They have them all the way down the Columbia river to the American border, on the Kootenay river, and Kootenay lake.

 

[Jughead]

Tellyman is correct.
It is a project of the Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative http://www.uppercolumbiasturgeon.org/
BC Hydro, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, Teck Cominco etc