Wednesday January 15, 2025
Delta Optimist —
Give a coho salmon half a chance at finding its way through an urban stream and it will find it.
That was evident last Dec. 24 when seven spawning coho were seen at the headwaters of Cougar Creek in the aptly named Cougar Creek Park, at 122nd Street and 68th Avenue in Surrey.
“That’s quite an achievement to get there. To get to the channels that are suitable for spawning, the fish had to not only had to cross under Scott Road and go for a block in a narrow channel, but they also had to cross a large pond, formerly Scott Lake,” said Deborah Jones, with the Cougar Creek Streamkeepers.
“This is the first time that any of us have ever seen them in that area. It was a Christmas surprise.
“This year, we were blown away because fish even got all the way up to Scott Road . . . and through the Scott Road culvert . . . and into Surrey and spawned there. We have never seen them spawning there before.”