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[RalphH]

This classic short film from 1979 has been re-released.

Frank Jenkinson, eighty-two, has been digging for fish for twenty-five years. His unorthodox conservationist practices have increased the numbers of the salmon population in the Jarvis Inlet from a modest 500 to 25,000. Using a spade and accompanied by his dog, Frank wades up and down the stream, digging for the newly hatched salmon that lie buried in the gravel. Without his intervention they risk dying before reaching maturity.

Jenkinson lived on his 100 acre property in Saltery Bay south of Powell River and devotes the later part of his life to enhance the chum salmon population of a creek near his home. He was 107 when he passed away.


https://www.nfb.ca/film/the-man-who-digs-for-fish/

BTW on a few occasions I have seen what Frank looked for - salmon that emerged from wet gravel and if they were lucky could flip flop running water to start their journey to the sea.

[96XJ]

That was a great story , thanks for posting

[iblly]

In the early 90s my mother lived near the mouth of Lang Creek and I would fish there every time I visited. The coho fishing was fantastic back then. I wonder if that was partially due to that mans efforts.

[roeman]

Amazing what one person with a shovel can accomplish..
Living to 107, sounds like karma to me.

[dennisK]

i dug it.

[stsfisher]

Thanks RalphH

[Lachs]

Makes me think we should really watch where our boots land when entering a stream or more importantly when crossing a side channel...

[Roderick]

I was looking for steelhead at Stave in January a couple of years ago (no luck), and I came across a couple of people digging in the gravel near the waters edge.  They were looking for alevin that had been stranded by a drop in the water level, which is controlled by the BC Hydro dam.  Apparently they didn't find many that day, but that kind of situation is certainly a major concern. 

[wildmanyeah]

I don't know the answer to this but there are much more knowledgeable people on here that might

was this a positive thing to do?

[Dave]

Digging up alevins does seem to be a risky process. Perhaps sometimes the good outweighs the bad in the case of Frank Jenkinson, but not so much for the Stave situation. Its like saving stranded salmon fry in river pools ... it seems obvious it would be best to get these fry to the main river but often the temperature shock causes mortality.

[RalphH]

I don't know the answer to this but there are much more knowledgeable people on here that might

was this a positive thing to do?

Are referring to the video or the previous post about people digging for alevins on the Stave?

When I watched the film about Frank Jenkinson the thought occurred to me that someone doing this today might get ticketed for their good intentions. The footage must be about 45 years old now and times have certainly changed. I don't think what Frank did was ever replicated and neither is there any good evidence that the increase in salmon returns was specifically due to what he did. These days we know how variable salmon returns can be. If he started this in the mid 50s which as far as I know wasn't a time of good chum returns it was a very low baseline to compare to the late 70s and 80s when returns were far better mostly due to lower harvest rates and better ocean conditions.

Still what he did made sense based on his observations. I have seen chum fry emerge in most but not submerged gravel. I've also seen dead fry in isolated pools of water perhaps because they emerged there during low water.

[wildmanyeah]

Are referring to the video or the previous post about people digging for alevins on the Stave?

When I watched the film about Frank Jenkinson the thought occurred to me that someone doing this today might get ticketed for their good intentions. The footage must be about 45 years old now and times have certainly changed. I don't think what Frank did was ever replicated and neither is there any good evidence that the increase in salmon returns was specifically due to what he did. These days we know how variable salmon returns can be. If he started this in the mid 50s which as far as I know wasn't a time of good chum returns it was a very low baseline to compare to the late 70s and 80s when returns were far better mostly due to lower harvest rates and better ocean conditions.

Still what he did made sense based on his observations. I have seen chum fry emerge in most but not submerged gravel. I've also seen dead fry in isolated pools of water perhaps because they emerged there during low water.

I was referring to the Frank film,  I was just thinking if it does help then more people doing would even make a bigger difference, but then if you have 10-20-30 people walking doing it is it really helpful? I think frank himself was obviously very positive for fish for everting he has done.

it seems to me just supplying a spawning channel with water or creating one would be much more multiplicative then a man and his shovel.   Then there is the natural selective side of things could genes pick out the better places to spawn. lots against this kind of interventions like hatcheries. If the creek is dry like that every year, then is the creek only capable of minimal production?  If you do create a spawning channel and have a fishery then what happens to the comigrating stocks of concerns?

The easy answer seems to do nothing, yet i believed its better to do something like Frank did

[RalphH]

one guy with a shovel is much much cheaper than a spawning channel that needs yearly maintenance & even then may not yield a positive payback ... look at Jones Creek. I suspect all the little enhancement projects have a bigger relative payback than the DFO developed, run and staffed projects and hatcheries.