Local waterways are experiencing the biggest chum run in decades, if not ever, according to a Burnaby streamkeeper.
Mark Angelo told the NOW close to 1,100 fish have already come up the Brunette River, past the Cariboo Dam. That’s about 300 more than last year’s count, and there are still two weeks left in the run. Meanwhile, an additional 700 chum have passed through Stoney Creek.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Angelo, who has spent more than 40 years advocating for Still Creek and Guichon Creek, and used to head the Fish, Wildlife and Recreation program at BCIT.
“I think to see all of this unfold in the midst of our city, especially on local waterways that not long ago were in really rough shape, impacted by pollution, urbanization and industry development, it is literally a salmon miracle in the city.”
He said this year’s run has also seen an increase in coho salmon.
The “major turnaround,” Angelo noted, was when Metro Vancouver created a new passageway at the Cariboo Dam in 2011, allowing fish to swim in and out of Burnaby Lake with more ease.
“Ever since they did that, we’ve been seeing an increase in salmon get over the dam and get into the creeks and streams in the upper part of the watershed. Every year it keeps building. It’s just so encouraging to see,” he said.
Efforts by local streamkeepers and conservation groups to restore waterways is another reason for the spike in chum this year, added Angelo.
“All of this highlights the fact that if we do the right thing, we can in fact turn things around.”
Angelo, who frequents the streams daily, has seen a lot of local residents marvelling at the salmon.
“We’re seeing a lot of young people who have never seen salmon spawn before. To be able to see that and witness that is so exciting. It does reconnect young people with one of nature’s most amazing spectacles,” he said.
