Low water levels affecting salmon migration in B.C. rivers, streams: DFO

On the Adams River, researchers are assessing how the 2023 Bush Creek East Wildfire affected the river and its vegetation.

A fisheries expert warns that low water levels brought on by years of severe drought, paired with meagre snowpack and rainfall, are leaving B.C.’s salmon in a compromising position during their spawning migration.

Researchers are also trying to understand the effects of last year’s devastating wildfires in B.C.

Salmon need a steady stream of cool, fresh water to survive and reach their spawning grounds. Still, Murray Manson, the section head of the Fisheries Department’s Habitat Restoration Centre of Expertise, told a briefing Friday that he is expecting fish to start appearing in some low-water areas.

“We’re trying to be prepared for some of the issues that might arise,” he said.

Manson noted that concerns persist despite a cool spring that left B.C. in a more “fortunate” position than expected.

“We’ve gotten off easy so far, I would say, in terms of the drought and its impacts on fish,” he said.

Some regions, like the Fraser River basin, predicted to see historically low salmon runs are currently in a state of “wait and see,” Manson said.

“They’re still swimming into the drought conditions which exist upstream,” he said of the salmon. “(But) it’s early. Things are still developing.”