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[fishstick]

Assuming the photos are real (this is the internet after all  ) and that the steelie is not a one-off freak of nature with an eating disorder, I'm inclined to think the plastics were ingested in the river (Fraser and Vedder). I can imagine how a large flat plastic piece fluttering in the current might resemble a small fish and trigger a strike response from a steelie.
 
But in the open ocean, the plastics are just passively floating around and bear little resemblance to a prey item. Every foreign object I've ever found in an ocean salmon has been a lure designed to look and act like prey. The few scientific studies I've read on ocean plastic pollution have also found relatively few plastics in salmon stomachs at sea and most were small particles likely ingested incidentally (Davis et al 2009, Boerger et al 2010).

If it was a wild fish, I don't see that steelie surviving after spawning with a gut full of plastic. If true that the plastics were eaten in the river and it's a common steelhead response to eat them, I can see river plastic pollution having a major impact on wild steelhead survival and production in many urban rivers. 

The photos are real. I suppose where exactly the plastic was ingested could be debated indefinitely, but that is somewhat irrelevant, as it is increasingly clear that those materials are abundant in both the rivers and the oceans, and have been that way for decades at least.

Thanks for the links to those studies. I'm not sure that I would interpret those as you did, but I will post the abstract from Boerger et al 2010 that I think you were referring to.

"A significant amount of marine debris has accumulated in the North Pacific Central Gyre (NPCG). The effects on larger marine organisms have been documented through cases of entanglement and ingestion; however, little is known about the effects on lower trophic level marine organisms. This study is the first to document ingestion and quantify the amount of plastic found in the gut of common planktivorous fish in the NPCG. From February 11 to 14, 2008, 11 neuston samples were collected by manta trawl in the NPCG. Plastic from each trawl and fish stomach was counted and weighed and categorized by type, size class and color. Approximately 35% of the fish studied had ingested plastic, averaging 2.1 pieces per fish. Additional studies are needed to determine the residence time of ingested plastics and their effects on fish health and the food chain implications."

Over 2 pieces in 35% of fish studied does not seem like "relatively few" as you state, nor did I read anything stating that the pieces were mostly small and incidentally ingested. Obviously this issue of a contaminated food chain is important to all of us, and the more accurate information that is available, the better.

I hope that over the next decade, we will have access to quality information that will inspire us to adjust our behaviors in positive ways.

[cammer]

like the video i refferred>  its river crap,,,after every high water event,, check the areas of back eddies where deposition has occurred, tons of pieces of everything in there,, plastic,,,corkies,,thongs,,worm containers,,,free floats,,,etc etc etc etc

[fishstick]

like the video i refferred>  its river crap,,,after every high water event,, check the areas of back eddies where deposition has occurred, tons of pieces of everything in there,, plastic,,,corkies,,thongs,,worm containers,,,free floats,,,etc etc etc etc

The video you referred to has no insight or bearing on this issue at all. It shows a fish that has consumed about a dozen baits (all but one of which were natural dyed, biodegradable baits), and none of the pieces looked anything like the plastic shown in the Province story.
Maybe you are referring to a different video?

[GordJ]

The photos are real.

You state this quite clearly, what was your involvement in taking the pictures? I know that periodically we hear of fish with unusual stomach contents but it is not really a common occurrence (in my limited experience) and for you to confirm the veracity I am assuming that you saw the fish?   Pardon my uncouth manner but this is the same Internet that the triple breasted woman used.
I am also surprised that I don't recognize the guy that caught it because I have supported most of the tackle stores in the Valley enough that I thought I would recognize him.

I suppose where exactly the plastic was ingested could be debated indefinitely, but that is somewhat irrelevant,

So again, this is the Internet and why bother to tell the truth if you mean well?
My B.S. Meter went off when I read this story just like it went off when I read about the three breasted woman. Why would anyone presume the plastic came from the ocean when an obviously predatory fish was caught in a river? The first thing I thought of was the fact that a fish that bit a lure/bait would probably be prone to biting a piece of plastic tumbling downstream in a river, wouldn't it? But I guess that wouldn't be as good a story or as good a cause. I can see the headline "Hatchery raised fish found with garbage inside on the busiest and most garbage strewn River in BC" and I can see how it is a lot better read when the "facts" are made to fit "the ocean is full of plastic" story.

[GordJ]

And, yes, I am opposed to garbage in the water and I am in favour of finding a way to clean up the rivers and oceans and I have participated in the Vedder cleanup with my daughter and my grandchildren. The first rule I taught my family was to bring home more garbage than we left with.

[StillAqua]

Thanks for the links to those studies. I'm not sure that I would interpret those as you did, but I will post the abstract from Boerger et al 2010 that I think you were referring to.

"A significant amount of marine debris has accumulated in the North Pacific Central Gyre (NPCG). The effects on larger marine organisms have been documented through cases of entanglement and ingestion; however, little is known about the effects on lower trophic level marine organisms. This study is the first to document ingestion and quantify the amount of plastic found in the gut of common planktivorous fish in the NPCG. From February 11 to 14, 2008, 11 neuston samples were collected by manta trawl in the NPCG. Plastic from each trawl and fish stomach was counted and weighed and categorized by type, size class and color. Approximately 35% of the fish studied had ingested plastic, averaging 2.1 pieces per fish. Additional studies are needed to determine the residence time of ingested plastics and their effects on fish health and the food chain implications."

Over 2 pieces in 35% of fish studied does not seem like "relatively few" as you state, nor did I read anything stating that the pieces were mostly small and incidentally ingested. Obviously this issue of a contaminated food chain is important to all of us, and the more accurate information that is available, the better.

Unfortunately, one has to read the entire papers, not the just the abstracts, to understand their findings, and the papers aren't available to everyone without journal access. Boerger et al 2010 didn't catch any salmon, just other small fish like lantern and saury that other fish prey on. The plastic pieces were plankton size (less than 3 mm) easily intercepted when those small fish feed on plankton. There was nothing the size of quarters and loonies that the Vedder steelie had. Davis et al 2009 found that only the largest Chinook salmon in the north Pacific (ocean age 3-5 years) had any plastic in their stomaches and it was less than 0.2% of their total stomach contents. Again, all small stuff that they could have collected from feeding on other plankton feeding fish that do ingest plastic. It's still bad for ocean ecosystems but there just isn't any evidence yet for large plastic pieces being ingested by adult salmon in the Pacific (yet). That's why I think in-river ingestion is most likely and something to be very concerned about.

I'd be interested to know if the plastics found in the steelie floated. Only some plastics float and if they sink, they wouldn't be floating around in the open ocean so you could be sure they are river origin.

[fishstick]

Why would people presume that the plastic came from the ocean?

That would be a good question for Dr. Peter Ross, of the Vancouver aquarium who thinks that is a likely scenario.
Another good question would be why anyone would presume that the plastic came from the river.
The best question would be "does it really matter if it came from the river or the ocean?"
Bottom line is... If it's in the river... It's gonna be in the ocean at some point. It's two sides of the same coin. They are different stages of the same problem.

As to confirming my involvement in this story/pictures... If I told you I was in involved, it wouldn't be proof of anything. Like anything else on the internet, you can take it or leave it.

 The plastics from this story are being sent to Dr. Peter Ross, and are destined to be studied using equipment designed to determine (among other points) where the plastic came from.

[chris gadsden]

The coverage. http://globalnews.ca/video/1843542/plastic-found-in-fraser-valley-fish

[StillAqua]

The best question would be "does it really matter if it came from the river or the ocean?"
Bottom line is... If it's in the river... It's gonna be in the ocean at some point. It's two sides of the same coin. They are different stages of the same problem.

I think it does matter where it came from. If the plastic came from the ocean there is little anyone on this board can do directly about it. But if it came from the river and is particularly impacting wild steelhead that are mistaking the pieces for prey fish, there are a lot of steelheaders on this board that should be concerned and perhaps could be motivated to do more to help keep the river clean. But the first place to start might be to ask other steelheaders on the flow to check the stomachs of their catch to see if it was just an aberrant steelie.

[GordJ]

Why would people presume that the plastic came from the ocean?

That would be a good question for Dr. Peter Ross, of the Vancouver aquarium who thinks that is a likely scenario.
Another good question would be why anyone would presume that the plastic came from the river.
The best question would be "does it really matter if it came from the river or the ocean?"
Bottom line is... If it's in the river... It's gonna be in the ocean at some point. It's two sides of the same coin. They are different stages of the same problem.

As to confirming my involvement in this story/pictures... If I told you I was in involved, it wouldn't be proof of anything. Like anything else on the internet, you can take it or leave it.

 The plastics from this story are being sent to Dr. Peter Ross, and are destined to be studied using equipment designed to determine (among other points) where the plastic came from.

When I was 17 we had a small fire at our house and the fire department attended. In the Langley paper they had an interview with one of the firemen and he credited our smoke detectors with saving our household from injury. We never had detectors but I guess the fireman and reporter thought that a lie for a good reason was okay. Everybody knows that smoke detectors save lives.
Since then, every time I read a story in the paper I disbeleave the story. Just like this one.
When you make up "facts" to support your issue you end up losing all credibility and will hurt your cause in the long run. Lies are lies. There are enough real reasons to campaign against the plastic in our oceans that we don't need to fake evidence. And when you tell me that there are whole turds floating outside the sewer outlets I will call B.S. then too.

[chris gadsden]

I think it does matter where it came from. If the plastic came from the ocean there is little anyone on this board can do directly about it. But if it came from the river and is particularly impacting wild steelhead that are mistaking the pieces for prey fish, there are a lot of steelheaders on this board that should be concerned and perhaps could be motivated to do more to help keep the river clean. But the first place to start might be to ask other steelheaders on the flow to check the stomachs of their catch to see if it was just an aberrant steelie.

Another angler got a plastic water bottle cap and another bit of plastic in a steelhead from the Vedder a few days ago too, an angler I know very well.

 After being involved since 2002 in cleaning up the Chiliwack Vedder River with the Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Society finding plastic in fish does not surprise me one bit.It does not matter if it was picked up by the fish in the river or ocean it is not a good sign of what is happening in our waterways.

 Our great volunteers have picked up 95 metric tonnes in 43 cleanups. Some, not all of this total has been been removed from the extreme highwater mark down to the river's edge so not hard to come to the conclusion lots of material including plastic gets washed down river to the Fraser and out to the ocean.

Of course one who is out on the Fraser sees a lot of garbage out there as well, left by many user groups and those that just go out there to dump garbage into the river and along the banks. A number of cleanups done by Woodtone, Fraser Keeper, Fraser Valley Salmon Society and others over the years have removed many tonnes as they will with 2 cleanups in the next month or so.

Always a good opportunity for those concerned about this to take a proactive approach and join a cleanup to this growing problem that effects not only fish but all that depend on clean water and that includes us as well.

 Thanks to the angler who has brought this issue to the attention of thousands of people here in BC and world wide.

[fishstick]

When I was 17 we had a small fire at our house and the fire department attended. In the Langley paper they had an interview with one of the firemen and he credited our smoke detectors with saving our household from injury. We never had detectors but I guess the fireman and reporter thought that a lie for a good reason was okay. Everybody knows that smoke detectors save lives.
Since then, every time I read a story in the paper I disbeleave the story. Just like this one.
When you make up "facts" to support your issue you end up losing all credibility and will hurt your cause in the long run. Lies are lies. There are enough real reasons to campaign against the plastic in our oceans that we don't need to fake evidence. And when you tell me that there are whole turds floating outside the sewer outlets I will call B.S. then too.

So I guess your point is that this story is a lie, and that it's been made up to further a specific agenda.

Fair enough. Don't forget your tinfoil hat next time you go out. I'm going to choose to let this coverage encourage me to do more in terms of helping to keep all of our waters cleaner.

[BladeKid]

Watch the documentaries Plastic Paradise and Garbage Island.... definately eye openers.... you may reconsider where the likelihood of ingesting these plastic lies.

[arimaBOATER]

The fish on the news looked really thin & sickly to me.
Guess this brings up another question.
Are fish safe to eat anymore or any sea food.
Plastics & the other zillion toxics in the ocean.
Big $ in selling seafood so maybe the truth is not being brought out.
The media just 2 wks ago again told of the floating plastic in the oceans. Some the size of Alberta. Fish lice,radiation,plastic, over fishing on & on. What next?
On a side note look at those plastic pieces & create new lures.
That's what they are biting on.

[cammer]

my video i posted is about STAGING STEELHEAD, completely aggressive and able to nail /ingest a million things floating in the water. If anyone has ever opened a salmon.s stomach you will notice digested herring chovy etc etc, its totally my belief if this was {ocean} plastic,,the acids involved in active feeding fish would discolor the outer layers of plastic and show the deterioration process,,,faded,,,etc,,,so again this fish is in the river,,, staged,, and was smacking bits of plastic etc,  not ocean