Goldstream Newsletter

Dec 2007

 

Escapement 2007
Once again, this fall has been a disaster for Chinook returns on the southern part of Vancouver Island. In spite of a release of a considerable amount of water into the Goldstream River starting in late September, only five Chinook were captured, all male. To make matters worse, the Nitinat hatchery also had a much less than normal return this year, and consequently are not able to provide us with any eggs. The rains have been quite irregular in November and early December, but Coho and Chum have returned and reasonable numbers have been captured, although far from a desirable total.

 

Shawnigan Creek had a fairly good return, and we have been able to augment our fish with some from that watershed. We should end up with totals of about 100,000 Coho eggs and 230,000 Chum eggs. The best news is that over 200 Coho have been counted returning to Millstream, so we hope that our rebuilding efforts are beginning to pay off.

 

Construction Activity
Only a few meters of pipe remain to be connected in the lower tank farm to finally complete this project, which has been ongoing for several years.

 

Kelly McKeown's work on Millstream continued this summer with the construction of another fishway at the Galloping Goose crossing.

 

The undertaking to make Millstream fish friendly was begun in 1998 with the initial construction of a fish ladder at the lower end of the river. That ladder had to be modified several times to allow easier passage by the fish, and in 2002 the City of Langford decided to get involved in a major way to build access to several kilometers of upstream spawning habitat. Six projects have since been completed, with design input from Phil Grange, P. Eng of Saltspring Island, and Kelly's construction expertise. All of these projects have been funded by Langford - as of this moment the city has contributed about $90,000 to habitat restoration, for which we and the fish are extremely grateful.

 

In addition to all of this, Kelly has been working on his video monitoring system at the lower end of the stream, which has been working well for the last year or so. This project has been entirely funded by GVSEA, another example of our generous donors' money at work.

 

Last winter we lost an inordinate number of eggs to fungus before they reached the eyed stage - so many that our egg to fry ratio was a disaster. This was attributed mainly to a fungal problem which is present in the water (we receive it from the Sooke Reservoir before it undergoes treatment). It was decided last spring that a water filtration system (in addition to some fungicidal applications to the fertilized eggs) would be necessary, since we have had this problem in varying degrees for many years. Accordingly, two filtration tanks were purchased and installed by our hard working Thursday crew, and are now in operation upstream of our incubation facilities. Early indications are very positive for success.

 

In 1994, two raceways were installed to replace the ancient in-ground rearing channels beside the river. A number of sets of covers have been built over the years to try to keep the predators out, none of which were particularly successful and all of which have worn out or been otherwise destroyed. In addition, frost action in the soil between the raceways had caused them to buckle somewhat. Thanks mainly (once again) to our Thursday crew, the soil has been replaced with concrete block retainers and coarse gravel, the raceway sides straightened, and a new set of covers is almost complete using a pattern designed by Randy Roberts.

 

Our food storage facilities got a huge boost with the purchase of a 20' steel container during the summer. We have reason to believe that it will prove bear proof.

 

2005- 2006 Fry
The Coho fry which we held over last winter were successfully released in various streams in the area, and we are presently holding about 20.000 fry (all of which have been tagged) for release next spring. This low number reflects the fungal problem we had last winter. During the summer the natural flow in Waugh Creek, which is tributary to the Goldstream, nearly ceases. It was decided that a fry salvage operation would be mounted, using gee traps and electro shocking. Over 2000 fry were recovered and are being held at the hatchery, pending release next spring.

 

Here and There:
Congratulations to Kelly McKeown, this years' recipient of the "Broom Award". Kelly has been involved in just about every enhancement project in the Victoria area over the past many years, and his expertise and enthusiasm are much appreciated. The fifteenth anniversary edition of the hatchery pictorial history book is hot off the press and available for $20 a copy. Micqualyn did her usual splendid job putting it together. As usual there is a long list of people and organizations for whose help we are very grateful. The Greater Victoria Water Department (our landlord) has, as usual, been generous and cooperative with help and support. It has recently made another building available to us that will serve as a splendid workshop and storage area. As usual, Peter McCully's expertise and enthusiasm does a huge part in making this association what it is. Tom Rutherford, our Community Advisor, has always been a tremendous support to us. His advice and encouragement has helped keep us on right track for a long time.

 

We are constantly gratified by the ongoing support we get from local individuals and organizations. Space precludes mentioning all of them here, but a complete list is published on our web site. Some of the ones deserving of special mention follow. The Port of Sidney has been sharing the proceeds of its annual derby with us for many years, the total of which now exceeds $30,000. We have received annual donations since 1997 from Clover Point Anglers. This small but dedicated group of fishermen has donated over $3200 to us. Bob Palmer, of Westlake Excavating, has donated a lot of work to our various projects. He cleans up the trap site each fall and has done all of the excavation for the supply piping for the new tank farm.

 

For seventeen years our association has depended on its dedicated volunteers, which now number nearly ninety, for its entire operation, from the two buildings and a few Cap troughs that it started with to the present 34 round tanks, two raceways and a few more buildings. The range of available expertise is enormous and is always freely donated. Our main hope is that 2008 will bring enough fish back to fill the facilities.

President:
George Cooper
Vice President:
Jerry Lang
Secretary Treasurer:
Phil Graydon
Directors:
Bill Cross
Steve Byatt
Joan Day
Ron Gower
John Mace
Jim Pearson
Micqualyn Waldie