Pete, Emmathedog, and I made our last trip into the upper river this morning. We got an early start, but the rain increased the further we went. 2 fish were seen on the gravel at Chilliwack Lake but viewing conditions were very poor. Water temperature had risen considerably, up to 12° C. Past numbers on comparable dates: 2015 – 1, 2017 – 18. In all other years’ counts were not done due to poor viewing conditions.
We decided not to attempt counting Centennial channel because the rain was too heavy, and bush has grown to the point where the channel is not that easy to see now. In past years: 2011 – 19, 2012 -4, 2013 – 18, 2014 – 1, 2017 -5, 2018 -0.
The third bridge was too high for observations.
So, over nine years, 63 daily observations, and viewing 791 steelhead, we have documented what many already knew; the numbers of early run steelhead, those that migrate from late November till app. the end of January, are declining. Considering there is virtually no interception of these fish from commercial or FN fisheries, habitat in the upper river is acceptable and often exceptional, and limited seal/otter predation, the reasons for this decline can be narrowed down somewhat. We think it’s likely a combination of issues, including:
1. Overharvesting by sports fishers back in the days of plenty. Remember, c&r wasn’t often practiced , and near full punch cards by the end of February, when nearly everyone stopped fishing, was normal for decent anglers. A very common sight was a full box of fish at Riverside Resort (anglers would leave their first fish there, while out catching the next). Both Pete and I remember seeing hundreds of fish holding in the Box canyon back in the early 70’s, and recall seeing up to 30 fish hooked in one run more than occasionally.
2. Climate/ocean change resulting in poorer survivals. What used to be 10% survival from smolt to adult is now just a fraction of that.
3. Influence of hatchery fish on wild genetics and, fish interactions. Removing up to 75 wild fish annually from a population we believe is now in the low hundreds is simply not sustainable. As well, returning hatchery fish tend to congregate near the hatchery – this entices wild fish to “hang out” with them, delaying upstream migration resulting in more exposure to angler pressure.
The decline in numbers of these fish from when we were young is massive; the decline of these fish in the roughly two cycles we have been counting is, in our opinion, possibly irreversible.
Our 2 recommendations are to have the river closed to angling April 1 upstream of Tamihi Creek, protecting staging wild fish from constant catch and release, and allowing them to spawn unmolested. And, the Province and DFO have to sit down and hammer out a steelhead hatchery program, designed specifically for these fish and this river. To do this right of course would require both time and money. At the speed government makes decisions, and the fact neither the Feds nor the Province really cares about these fish makes us a bit pessimistic.
Author
Topic: 2019 Upper Chilliwack River steelhead enumerations (Read 13476 times)