Salmon may struggle to spawn amid drought: Streamkeepers

As B.C. struggles with wildfires and drought, West Vancouver’s Streamkeepers say they’re worried about low water levels and high temperatures in Cypress Creek, and the salmon that spawn there.

Ongoing dry weather may hurt local salmon according to Steve Macdonald, who looks after a number of waterways.

B.C.’s current drought may hurt local salmon according to Steve Macdonald, who looks after a number of waterways with Streamkeepers. (Kier Junos, CityNews Image)

He says the water level in Cypress Creek is incredibly low, making the water warm more easily, and making it difficult for salmon to spawn.

“This is about as low as you’re going to see this stream. You can see how high it could normally be at high flow, we’d have 10 times as much water as it does now,” said Macdonald.

“We do know that with certain species, temperatures in river systems have reached critical levels, and some of the levels so high that spawning, the run, actually ceases.”

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He says losing salmon populations, which feed many other species and add nutrients to streams and rivers, makes it harder to bring the fish back.

Paul Cipwynk with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers in Burnaby says those working in water ecology around the province are seeing dry conditions they’ve never seen before over the past few years.

“They’re very concerned with the fire situation of course, and also with the river levels,” he said.

“It’s province-wide, that’s what’s really concerning to me. It’s not just our little urban creeks, it’s actually impacting large systems, even the Fraser River.”

The worst of the dry weather is hitting Vancouver Island, where multiple watersheds are at drought level five, the highest and most serious level on the scale.

“Any population of salmon in any stream on Vancouver Island now has got to be a major concern to us right now,” said Macdonald.

Macdonald tells CityNews that Cypress Creek is in relatively good shape, but the Streamkeepers are trying to get government funding to ensure this stream nurtures salmon for generations to come.