Gold River Steelhead - Meeting Forum

[Derby]

Good Afternoon


The BC Conservation Foundation would like to invite interested anglers, conservationists and stake-holders to a public information session on the recent decline of Gold River steelhead trout, comprising:

• A presentation including results of recent stock assessment activities, fishery management actions, and historical context regarding Gold River steelhead, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

• Information on how community members may continue to be informed and included in Gold River steelhead recovery.


Where : Campbell River Fish and Wildlife Clubhouse, 2641 Campbell River Rd, Campbell River, BC V9W 4N4

When : Wednesday January 23, 7-9 pm


For any store/venue owners, I have attached a letter sized poster that can be posted for public viewing. If you could print and post in an appropriate location this would be much appreciated. In addition, please feel free to disseminate to a broader audience.


Hope to see you there,


Regards


Jeramy Damborg

Senior Project Biologist, BCCF.

 

[Whitebuck]

thanks for posting, truly mad I can’t make it as Inwill be out of country. Hopefully Kenny and a few others go.

 

[Derby]

I will most likely be attending...

 

[Derby]

A good group of people showed up to this meeting.. a full house i would say.. Mike gave the group a run down on what is up with the Gold river but really no answers to why or how we got to where we are now... Its rather puzzling as the summer run fish are doing fine..winter are gone period.... It was refreshing to at least hear from the person who is in charge & get some real answers to questions asked.. unlike DFO 's consultation ... er I'll see if i can get the answer for you... I will post up the link to what was presented to us when i receive it...

 

[searun]

The only difference between summer and winter fish is in-migration timing. Summers enter the river when there are other salmon migrating along with them and in the summer when there is lots of other food for ....harbour seals....hmmm Winters enter the river when there are no other prey present for seals to eat, and therefore represent an important food source in the scare winter months. No question seals are in the lower river up to the falls. Many other streams experience the exact same issue. Its no longer a relative rarity to see seals in rivers during the winter. Also interesting that the harbour seal population has stopped increasing. Perhaps they have reached their carrying capacity. Seals in rivers are a very significant problem. I'm not a fan of these calls for all out seal culls, but I am increasingly supportive of selective harvest of problem animals. If asked to choose between addressing problem seals in rivers and extirpation of steelhead, its becoming an easy choice.

 

[Fishmyster]

There is a difference in where juvenile winter and summer steelhead rear.

 

[Whitebuck]

What was the counts for the last 5 years for winters?
Was logging brought up at all in this meeting?

 

[Fishmyster]

Top count for winters on the Gold last 2 years was, I believe, 3 steelhead. Derby will be posting the information when it comes available. We can go thru it then.
Logging was brought up. There was no drastically obvious changes to the streambed implying logging has caused the demise of the stock. Last year Mike did snorkel survey a portion of Megin river in Clayquot sound. Megin is unlogged and pristine. He observed none! So an unlogged and untouched stream had no better steelhead return than Gold.

 

[Ripperoflips]

What was the counts for the last 5 years for winters?
Was logging brought up at all in this meeting?

Do you realize how long they've been logging up the Muchalat Inlet and the Gold and Muchalat rivers? I used to fish on the Gold in the 80's and early 90's, from what I understand the Steelhead really started to decline when the Juvenile Orca took up residency in Muchalat inlet and they found he really liked Steelhead. We used to see families of river Otters all along the lower river, never saw any seals but I'm not saying that their not there now.

 

[Whitebuck]

Yes....I do realize the logging and the increase in it the last 10 years on the gold and surrounding inlets.
Yes Luna created drop in the numbers...I remember seeing Luna within the estuary on a high tide.
What month did Mike swim the Megin?
I have spent almost all of February and a bunch of trips from December to end of March on the gold for almost almost 20 years now. Seals up to circus and lake hole last few years...not a good thing.
If the winters are truly gone....is a hatchery for winter runs the answer?
Do we create a Stamp on the top end of the island for economic growth and another fishery? Or do we just let another system die?

 

[Fishmyster]

Yes....I do realize the logging and the increase in it the last 10 years on the gold and surrounding inlets.
Yes Luna created drop in the numbers...I remember seeing Luna within the estuary on a high tide.
What month did Mike swim the Megin?
I have spent almost all of February and a bunch of trips from December to end of March on the gold for almost almost 20 years now. Seals up to circus and lake hole last few years...not a good thing.
If the winters are truly gone....is a hatchery for winter runs the answer?
Do we create a Stamp on the top end of the island for economic growth and another fishery? Or do we just let another system die?

I have been fishing VI streams since the late 1970's. If you were fishing Gold river in the 1980's you would be saying, "Look at all the steelhead! Maybe logging has improved the numbers?".

I am curious if you have ever seen Luna eating steelhead? I also seen seals up at the lake pool back in the 1990's so they are nothing new.

If you think a hatchery is the answer just come on over to Port Alberni for a fish and let me know just how plentiful the winter steelhead are?

There is a perfectly good scientific explanation for the depression of steelhead in not just the Gold rivers but the remote unlogged streams like the ones of Clayquot sound. If anyone did assessments of supporting stream ecology for comparison with steelhead productivity in any of these streams there would be some answers. Sadly there is no study or investigation into the changing chemistry of the water source coming from the sky or how it could be effecting ecology. If there was it would explain why even remote pristine streams can have similar devastated runs.

Despite all the doom and gloom I am seeing a return of high water quality invertebrates in many streams they have been absent for twenty years. My prediction, based on the now building ecology, is that the steelhead are far from done. It is already happening to some streams.

 

[Fishmyster]

I for got to mention that Megin was swam in mid March I think. I have had good days there back in the 1990's mid March in the same area Mike surveyed.

 

[Whitebuck]

Vedder hatchery program for winters is good! Maybe their is something different that the people in charge of the Robertson creek hatchery are doing in regards to their smolt release
But let’s stay on track here...lol

 

[wildmanyeah]

Not a big fan of hatchery programs but its pretty sad that the gold has zero winters left and the cap still has some


Cap hatchery Nov 2018

Cap Hatchery spring 2018

 

[Whitebuck]

Only reason why there is any fish on the Capilano is because of the hatchery!
Take the hatchery away and another dead river!

 

[searun]

Whatever the cause, whatever the solution, one thing is clear. Doing nothing leads to extirpation, and that is truly very sad.