Friday November 19, 2021
Victoria Times Colonist —
The heavy rainfall that turned rivers and creeks into raging waterways this week is expected to have a significant effect on salmon stocks for years to come.
The swift water likely swept away incubating eggs and sent young salmon prematurely out to sea, destroyed critical gravel nesting sites and food sources, and hindered salmon that had yet to spawn, says Ian Bruce, a biologist with the Peninsula Streams Society.
“It will affect a lot of fish,” says Bruce, who was assessing some of the damage caused by overflowing creeks and streams this week.
The society’s fishway project on Millstream Creek spilled its banks, spreading water and debris into the forest along Atkins Road.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many juvenile fish or eggs might be affected by the deluge.