We're off to a disappointing start to the salmon spawning season in Byrne Creek, the urban waterway that runs behind our townhouse complex.
So far we've confirmed (measured, sexed, and checked spawning status of dead fish) only 15 chum and 11 coho, less than half of what we had counted by this time last year.
We counted 91 dead spawners last year, and while that may sound paltry, it's an amazing feat for an urban creek in which salmon populations were wiped out for decades. Even after cleanup efforts and restocking initiatives, everything in the creek was killed when someone poured something toxic down a stormdrain six years ago.
It is also frustrating that nearly all of the coho females have not spawned -- we find them with full egg sacs -- while the chum females are almost uniformly spawned.
Streamkeepers have heard that runs have been late this year, so we're hoping the action will pick up.
Posted by Paul at November 18, 2005 07:17 PM