2007 news releases

Fish Culturists Looking at Chinook in a Whole New Way...Underwater

Comox Valley Echo
Tue 06 Nov 2007
Page: B3
Section: News
Source: Comox Valley Echo

This past summer staff at the Puntledge River Hatchery were able to get a fairly accurate count of the number of summer-run Chinook salmon returning to the river to spawn.

Using a new way of observing fish in the hatchery's fishway, employing underwater cameras and digital recorders, biologists are monitoring the movements of this unique and endangered salmon stock.

The underwater cameras are part of the Fishway Assessment Project, and have been installed at three locations along the Puntledge River - at the lower hatchery, the diversion dam and the impoundment dam.

With technical assistance from Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Puntledge Hatchery and funding provided by BC Hydro's Bridge Coastal Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program, the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society has led the Fishway Assessment project into its third year.

"The video monitoring tools give us at the hatchery accurate counts of fish numbers," says Lorne Frissen, from the Puntledge Hatchery.

"It also allows biologists studying salmon migration an easy way to track movements of Chinook and other species, and correlate these movements with weather patterns and various flow regimes in the river," Frissen adds.

The main objective of the project is to determine whether summer-run Chinook are able to successfully access habitat upstream of physical obstructions in the river, such as Stotan and Nymph Falls and the dams.

Historically, before hydro development and it's associated modifications to the river, summer-run Chinook took advantage of high river flows during the spring to make the 16.5 km journey from the estuary to Comox Lake.

Comox Lake offers a cool respite where summer-run Chinook salmon can hold until they are ready to spawn in the fall.

After spending the summer in the lake, the Chinook either move further up into the Upper Punteldge River and Cruickshank River or drop down into the headpond area of the Puntledge River (just below the impoundment dam).

This year, over 240 summer-run Chinook were captured on video as they migrated through the diversion dam fishway at the Upper Puntledge River Hatchery into the headpond.

At least one third of these fish are currently spawning at a spawning habitat area constructed in the headpond in 2005.

This area historically supported a few thousand summer-run Chinook salmon.

Comox Valley Project Watershed Society encourages the public to take advantage of this opportunity to witness the summer and fall Chinook spawning season in the Puntledge River.

When visiting the river be cautious of high flows due to heavy rains and flood management.

These two stocks spawn at the same time and can be safely viewed at the following sites until the beginning of November:

* Bull Island Side-channel upstream of Stotan Falls

* Barbers Pool outlet

* Below the Puntledge Diversion Dam

* Approximately 800 m upstream of the Upper Puntledge Hatchery in the headpond

Remember when viewing spawning fish it is important to not disturb them, so please make sure pets are kept out of the river.