Monitoring Coho Salmon Escapement on the Seymour River

Question 1

List some facts about the seymour salmonid society

4 things - when was it formed, what does it do, where is it located?

Answer 1

• The society was formed in 1987 when BCIT passed on the respnsability of running the hatchery to the SSS
• The society runs the seymour river fish hatchery and education center
• It plays a role in sustaining fish stocks and creating fish habitat
• The hatchery itself is located in the lower seymour conservation reserve

Question 2

What was the primary species being monitored during our field trip with the SSS? How does this monitoring take place?

Answer 2

• The primary species being monitored is Coho salmon
• The fish are monitored through a mark-recapture study
• The fish are captured in a seine net and then a hole punch is used to make a mark in the oppurculum
• the fish are then relesed and recovered during dead pitch surveys

Question 3

Be able to comment on the recent history of the Seymour River salmon and steelhead (impediments to passage) and some of the other ways of monitoring fish stocks.

Answer 3

• In 2014 a rockslide occured on the seymour river which blocked migrating fish
• Another blockage is the seymour dam which has taken away about 20 miles of fish habitat in the upstream area
• anothing method of monitering fish stocks includes radio tagging