Colquitz River Fish Fence: Community Volunteers Work to Save Wild Salmon

Colquitz fish trap being checked — Volunteers check the fish trap while community members look on.

Update Dec 17 to counts.

It’s been a tough autumn this year at the Colquitz River fish counting fence. Community volunteers, carrying on the legacy of the Colquitz Salmonid Stewardhip & Education Society, have been tracking the returning salmon – primarily coho – and giving them a boost upstream to preferred spawning grounds. It has proved to be a very poor year for returning coho.

The numbers from Oct 3 to Dec 7, when the fence was removed:

coho males	29
coho females	89
coho jacks	193
chum	1
cutthroat trout	2
mort, coho female	1
Total	315

At mid-December 2014, the count was:

coho males	508
coho females	820
coho jacks	221
cutthroat trout	7
smolts	3
chinook	1
mortalities	4
unknown, seen going round the fence	20
Total	1584

A grim year for returns.

Netted fish at Colquitz River fish trap. — Fish netted to be tracked and placed upstream.

Fish netted at Colquitz River fish trap. — More fish netted at the fish trap.