Last week's cool, refreshing rain meant death to hundreds of fish in Hyde Creek in Port Coquitlam.
Members of the Hyde Creek Watershed Society arrived for volunteer duties Saturday to find 840 dead salmon fry in the creek between Coast Meridian road and the Hyde Creek recreation centre.
"It was very disappointing," society president Cliff Kelsey said of the devastation that was probably caused by a concentration of pollutants from road runoff.
Black water that collected in pools containing the dead fish was sent to a lab for confirmation but it was likely oil and other residue from the road that killed the salmon.
The fish kill comes as volunteers have been putting in extra hours to save salmon fry stuck in shallow pools. With stream levels dropping, many fish get stuck in the pools and need to be helped along to deeper portions of the creek.
Jean Peachman, a director with the Hyde Creek Watershed Society, said hatchery volunteers have been busy taking fry from areas where the stream is drying up and taking them to deeper basins.
"A few of our members know what pools are going to dry up," she told The Tri-City News. "They get in there with buckets and nets and grab as many as we can get."
Because coho fry tend to stay in fresh water longer than other salmon, they are often in the creek during the warmest months of the year. That means that hatchery workers have to pull as many fish as they can, relocating them from one pool to another, while estimating where water levels are going to go.
Peachman said net-wielding volunteers usually scan the creek two to three times a week in an effort to save as many of the fry as possible.
"It just helps the numbers [of fish] in the system," she said.
Although dry weather has resulted in low water levels in the creek, the salmon pond where coho fry overwinter remains deep and clean, thanks to a well that was recently dug to provide fresh water.
Kelsey said the work the volunteers do pays off because coho salmon have been returning to the creek in greater numbers. Until two years ago, returning salmon were rare and hard to find but the last two years has seen numbers of spawning pairs returning to their home creek.
"It's been heartening to see our numbers have increased dramatically," Kelsey said.
However, he noted that the recent fish kill underscores how important it is for the community to keep pollutants out of creeks and streams.
PLANT REMOVAL
Volunteers will also be needed this weekend when the society hosts its invasive plant removal event along Hyde Creek. Many species of plants, including English ivy and laniums, choke out the natural trees in the area, decreasing the amount of shade covering the stream.
Members of the public are encouraged to volunteer for the program, which will meet at the hatchery (3636 Coast Meridian Rd.) on Saturday, Aug. 10 between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Participants should bring gloves and long pants, and will be treated to coffee and a tour of the hatchery.
For more information go to www.hydecreek.org.
