Monday’s flooding was disastrous not only for some people and livestock, but for wildlife as well.
Officials at Goldstream Hatchery said the high river levels may have a devastating impact on already low chum salmon stocks.
“I’ve been associated with this river for about 40 years and I’ve never seen it this high. I’ve seen flood events, but nothing like this,” said Peter McCully, the hatchery’s technical advisor.
“This year, the chum salmon are my main concern because the return was low to start off with, it’s one of the lowest returns we’ve seen.”
And its not just the spawning salmon in danger because of the flood, the clear water at the hatchery is now full of suspended material and organic debris which poses a risk to the eggs.
“[The flooding] moves the gravel, it unearths the eggs, it clogs up the nests…the water, if you see it, is very turbid right now.” McCully said.
“It’s really dangerous for the eggs that are incubating in the gravel because it tends to suffocate them.”
READ MORE: Cowichan Valley residents clean up after flood
The hatchery’s infrastructures, which are normally well above water, can barely be seen as it’s completely underwater.
“At the fish fence, where we normally collect our brood stock, the fence was completely underwater. All the super-structures, the lock blocks that were in place to hold the fence there were underwater and the hydro-meter that’s supposed to measure the height of the river was missing completely,” explained Reece Hasanen, a volunteer at the hatchery.
“Not much is going to be left in the river. And the stream walk is going to be drastically different. And we’re not sure of what’s left of our infrastructures to collect brood stocks.”
It’s unclear how many fish have been lost due the flood.
According to McCully, the long-term impact of the salmon run from Monday’s flood won’t be known until the water level comes down, which could take weeks as the Goldstream River is still running high.
Tahmina Aziz
