More pink salmon returning to the Campbell River than expected
According to the Cambell River based Courier-Islander, this year's Quinsam River (a tributary to the Campbell River) pink salmon run is better than expected, and "That's good news for salmon enhancement projects all down the east coast of the Island, says Quinsam River Hatchery manager Dave Ewart. "We're quite excited about the pink return this year because we didn't think we'd have that many," Ewart told the Courier-Islander. "This run size allows us to take another eight million eggs above our target for other south coast projects. It's important to note that this little river here is supporting pretty well the whole east coast of Vancouver Island from Campbell River south, for pink rebuilding. This is the bank account for the east coast of the Island for pinks."
In many ways, the pink salmon are the lifeblood of streams and rivers throughout the BC coast. They are the first of the Pacific salmon species to return and they traditionally do so in huge numbers. The carcasses of dead pinks are a major source of nutrients to the river system. As such, enhanced pink salmon runs are a vital tool in restoring or maintaining the health of many waterways. Ewart estimated this year's return to the Quinsam at roughly 80,000. That's down from last year's return of about 120,000, but it's much better than expected, based on the poor brood year of 2006 - the parents of these fish.
Ewart and others suspect the better-than-expected return is another example of the success of a 2005 project which cleared obstacles to fish passage above the hatchery, opening another 14 kilometres of upper river to the pinks for spawning. "I think that fishway project has been a real boost for this river and I think we're seeing it play out now," he said. "I think that year there was a lot of fry produced from the upper Quinsam River from the fishway project that we did the year before. We had a lot more fry coming out of the river and I think that's bolstered the numbers."
That means hatchery staff can take up to 15 million pink salmon eggs from this year's run, seven million for local enhancement efforts and another eight million for projects elsewhere. "We do that every year that we have enough broods coming back to the river," Ewart said. "We've taken eggs for a lot of south coast projects." Once again it's been a different year on the Quinsam/Campbell system, he said. The chinook numbers look to be down from last year's run of 6,000. "Everything is appearing to be later this year. The pinks were in the Campbell as early as July, but they hadn't started migrating into the Quinsam until about (last) Friday when they really started coming up to the fence. We're actively counting fish right now," he said. "The chinook didn't come in at all until last week. We were concerned two weeks ago because we just weren't seeing them and the Tyee Club wasn't catching a lot of fish but last Wednesday when we swam, our estimate was about 3,500, which is on par with last year for that time. They have come in. There seems to be a good number down there.
"The pattern of holding has absolutely changed for chinook in the Campbell. Harassment by seals could be a cause but they're not holding in the lower river like they used to. I think they either move up or they hold out and travel up and down along the foreshore until they really have to come in. "Everywhere has seen a real downturn in chinook. We know that ocean conditions on those brood years were not very good, so if we get 6,000 that would be good. I'm not sure we're going to get that."
