The Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society (BCWS) will have a counting fence installed near the mouth of Brooklyn Creek over the next several weeks and is looking for volunteers to assist with the survey of this year’s coho smolts exiting the creek.
Brooklyn Creek is home to spawning populations of coho and chum salmon as well as resident cutthroat trout, sticklebacks and sculpins. The stream originates in the area of the Crown Isle and Longlands golf courses, and flows through the City of Courtenay, the regional district, and the Town of Comox before emptying into Comox Bay at Mack Laing Park. The BCWS is a community organization that develops and implements projects to facilitate the restoration and protection of the creek. The information collected with this project provides a reference on the value of Brooklyn Creek as a salmon-bearing creek, and to determine if past restoration activities are having a positive impact on salmon productivity.
This will be the 11th year BCWS has monitored the exit of coho smolts from the stream. Previous records indicate fluctuations from 660 to 3,680 coho leaving the stream in a single year.
The BCWS is hosting an information and practical session about the counting fence on Monday, April 15, 6-7 p.m. at the creek site adjacent to 70 Orchard Park Dr. Participants will learn how to handle fish fry collected from the fish trap, data collection and species identification. The trap will be operational starting April 15 until early June and will require daily monitoring. The process takes about one hour, typically in the morning, and each volunteer is asked to assist about one day each week.
Anyone interested in getting outdoors and doing something great for the community is encouraged to contact Larry Jefferson at lwjefferson@shaw.ca or visit the BCWS website at Brooklyncreek.ca to reserve a space for the April 15 session.