A turbulent ride awaits thousands of juvenile salmon hatched from eggs incubated in Bowker Creek after a fish kill prompted their early release in Oak Bay.

A group of stream-keepers from Peninsula Streams and Shorelines, Friends of Bowker Creek and representatives from Goldstream Hatchery, planted 18,350 chum eggs into two incubation boxes in Bowker Creek on Jan. 8. Since then, volunteers have been visiting, peeking into the boxes regularly, taking the temperature and watching water quality.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been this combination of happy and sad for us,B次元官网网址� Friends of Bowker member Gerald Harris told the Oak Bay B次元官网网址.

B次元官网网址淩ight through that whole period of time until about a week ago we were seeing what looked like these very healthy eggs and very healthy little alevin because weB次元官网网址檙e able to peek in and see whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in there. B次元官网网址� Fingers and toes crossed it was going so well.B次元官网网址�

Just after the cold, dry period in February, the region saw heavy rainfall, stirring up turbidity in the water. Clouded with sediment and high water meant no looking inside the incubation boxes. Checking in on them two days later B次元官网网址� days before the planned March 1 release B次元官网网址� the volunteers suddenly faced a sea of silverB次元官网网址揵ellyB次元官网网址搖p baby salmon.

B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 look as good, we thought we were seeing some mortality in there,B次元官网网址� Harris said. A professional who volunteers with the organization went down to assess the situation on Feb. 27, and realizing they had a severe fish kill, immediately released the rest of the brood.

B次元官网网址淲hen we first pulled out the trays all you see is these dead fish there and whatB次元官网网址檚 deceptive about that is the dead fish turned silver side up, whereas the living ones are still dark side up,B次元官网网址� Harris said.

That first glimpse of a swarm of silver was disheartening but belied what lay beneath.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e just confronted with all these dead fish. Only as we were emptying these things, we realized that weB次元官网网址檙e pretty confident we have at least 50 per cent survival.B次元官网网址�

An educated guess is that 9,000 to 10,000 living alevin launched into the waterway that day. An alevin B次元官网网址� a newly hatched fish with its yolk sac still attached B次元官网网址� becomes a fry once the sac is consumed. The small fish could hang out in the waterway for up to a month before moving on, making water quality even more critical.

The Friends of Bowker Creek Society supports the restoration and enhancement of the waterway guided by the vision and goals of the regionally-developed Bowker Creek Initiative B次元官网网址� a partnership that includes municipalities.

With the cause of death unknown, the group called on Oak Bay Public Works to look into the cloudy water incidents over recent weeks. They learned the district had already been alerted by another resident and were looking into the source.

B次元官网网址淗e visited the creek, connected with volunteers and saw the situation in the incubation box. He went right to work looking to identify the source of the pollution,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淲e really feel we are a part of a team.B次元官网网址�

Oak Bay staff looked at four locations throughout the community, the district confirmed. They determined the source was coming from outside of the municipality but didnB次元官网网址檛 locate the exact source.

Salmon fry are sensitive to high turbidity which can be caused by fine sediments introduced from construction activity or bank erosion. The Friends of Bowker hope folks in Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria B次元官网网址�  where the waterway runs B次元官网网址� will be extra aware of what they send into the watershed.

This first year using incubating boxes marked a return of eggs to the creek. In 2022 and 2023 the groups planted eggs in a rocky bed built into the waterway, but a poor Goldstream River salmon return in 2023 meant many groups the hatchery supports, including Friends of Bowker, did not receive eggs for incubation in 2024. 

Despite losing some of this year's fish, Harris figured they had the design right for the site.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e built boxes that can work in Bowker Creek,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淲e believe weB次元官网网址檙e on a good course. We can illustrate to DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) for this year that weB次元官网网址檙e using a good system and Bowker Creek is still a good project.B次元官网网址�