Steelhead Predation - Seals in the Cowichan - post your pics!

[J-ROC]

So, over the past few weeks I have come across an alarming number of Steelhead that are showing signs of predators. well over 50% of the fish landed are marked, bitten, or scarred. I have also seen 2 seals in the Cowichan this season, up to just below Stoltz, and have been hearing of many other sightings up to horseshoe bend. IMPO this is a BIG problem and needs to be addressed - the more fodder for some targeted harvesting of seals the better chance it will have of happening. I am not advocating for a coast-wide cull, just a select harvest of problem/nuisance seals. I observed some similar scarred fish in the Gold River in the Mid 2000's and fear that if nothing is done that we may end up in a similar situation with only a handful of fish returning. The Cowichan is one of VERY FEW remaining functioning winter Steelhead runs on the coast. PLEASE!!! post pics of injured/marked fish and any sightings of seals.

some from this year between me and others.

 

[wildmanyeah]

seems like they are eating steelhead

 

[Rockfish]

It may not just be seals. I recall there were reports of 300 plus sea lions ambushing fish at the close approach to the river earlier this year.

 

[Whitebuck]

Seen an otter today on the vedder that had a 12lb doe in its mouth!

It's funny looking back at pics of steelhead over the years from up and down the coast...almost all have some sort of predation scars. That many years in the ocean they are bound to come across predators...

The ones in terminal areas and in fresh water should have lead interception though...

 

[J-ROC]

I agree, seals aren't the only predator. I think that most of the scars that i have posted have occurred relatively recently, scales do regenerate and wounds heal. i have seen other fish with healed scars as well. I have been fishing the Cowichan for nearly 20 years now and this year is definitely the worst that I have seen it. thanks for the posts and perspectives. That interesting Whitebuck that you saw an otter with a full sized steelhead! it would be interesting to know if that was a fish that was caught and released, I suspect that catch and release of tired fish into the hands (or mouths) of predators might play a role as well.

 

[chris73]

Some of these damaged fins could be also from fighting during the spawning/pairing ritual.

 

[Fishmyster]

Lots of nice teeth marks on those fish. Mink and otters like steelhead too. I have seen it happen more than seals. Taking into consideration that the fish in the pictures are the survivors of predation. I would assume the marks which are less devastating tears but more nibble appearance from sharper teeth would not be seals. It would be interesting to figure out by dental imprint comparison exactly which type of predator has caused what damage. Nobody deserves unnecessary convictions for something they didn't do.

Confirming what Chris 73 notes. One time with some buddies while reeling in a mature 14lb steelhead we noticed there was a bigger one swimming along side. We thought the companion wanted the bait but turned out not. The free swimming male turned and slammed into the other with a lightning fast maneuver. Because it was fairly still piece of stream we heard a solid thump as the aggressor connected. It sounded like one of them was dropped from ten feet on to pavement but underwater. I was shocked at the furry and force!!

 

[Burban]

Sure, looking at fish with wounds trying to determine which animal attacked it can only result in an accusation.

Witnessing seals with your own eyes in the upper stack pools targeting steelhead at the anadromous barrier isn't debatable. Its happening, and its a problem.

 

[Fishmyster]

Well I have witnessed thousands of fish which have died at Stamp falls pool. There is video and pictures to prove it all. In my 35 years of guiding on this river I have yet to personally witness a seal eat an adult salmon or steelhead in the river. I have seen them in the river often but not eating adult fish in front of me. I know they do but I sure don't see it much. Mink and otters yes. It was all people that carried the thousands of fish away that I seen. Yet it is the seals get the bad rap.

Anyway why confuse this witch=hunt with acquiring factual information, right!! lol.

Burban, you did video the seals eating the stacked fish??

 

[Fishmyster]

For the record guys, I am in favor on taking out seals, birds, mink or any other predators but just think most are underestimating the other than seal acts that go on. Maybe otters are actually more of a threat in rivers but seals rule the tidal areas. So far we have one recent visual report of otter predation on this thread but no fish in seal mouth reports yet. White buck did you get a pic of the otter and 12lbr?

 

[onefish]

I have seen seals 20+ miles up the Kitimat river chasing steelhead in the shallows. Clearly steelhead were being targeted and I would assume caught at times. I too have seen seals on the Cowie as far up as Vimy. I am assuming they make the laborious trek up river to eat not go on a vacation.
On the other hand, maybe they are turning over all the rocks and licking the invertebrates off

 

[J-ROC]

I have seen seals 20+ miles up the Kitimat river chasing steelhead in the shallows. Clearly steelhead were being targeted and I would assume caught at times. I too have seen seals on the Cowie as far up as Vimy. I am assuming they make the laborious trek up river to eat not go on a vacation.
On the other hand, maybe they are turning over all the rocks and licking the invertebrates off

Lol.. I agree there is little else for a seal to do when 20 + km (or 50 km in the case of Nimpkish) from the ocean in the middle of winter other than eat local trout and or Steelhead, I would also hazard a guess that they are mopping up the snack sized pre-smolts as well. I have chatted with a young fellow the day after he witnessed a number of seals, catching and killing a number of steelhead near the powerlines on the Cowichan, last year (he described it as a 'bloodbath').

I am not saying that otter don't eat steelehad as well, but they also eat lots of other things, their scat is typically loaded with crayfish on the Cowichan, and they also chow down on the FW mussle that is there too. I find it a little hard to believe that mink are targeting adult steelhead, mink are usually 2-3 lbs, and from a bit of research you may find that they also eat lots of terrestrial prey (rabbit, squirrel, snakes, mice etc). Seals have an extremely fish heavy diet, and one large seal will eat about as much as 100 Mink, they also become specialists in hunting a certain prey at a certain time of year. IMPO them being in the river, in winter, is an indictable offence, and given their numbers are at an historic high there is basically nothing to lose.

They may be getting scars from mating/battles but I will point out that 7 out of 8 of the photos posted above are of Female Steelhead, I am finding that they are getting hit harder than the males and they are less prone to competition during spawning. This is common among seals as well, they target the females to get at the eggs.

I might need to pull out some of my old oil lamps

 

[Fishmyster]

I have seen seals 20+ miles up the Kitimat river chasing steelhead in the shallows. Clearly steelhead were being targeted and I would assume caught at times. I too have seen seals on the Cowie as far up as Vimy. I am assuming they make the laborious trek up river to eat not go on a vacation.
On the other hand, maybe they are turning over all the rocks and licking the invertebrates off

Ah yes the old guilty by association act. Just like the engo groups blaming fishermen for the demise of Chinook because that is what they see when they look out over the water.

In those pictures I see predator bites. Yes seals eat fish but so do otters. To blame only seals while turning a blind eye to the other creatures of the food web that eat fish is just a blind conviction directed at seals. Not very scientific.

Say I have a food dish on my deck for my dog. Every morning it is empty even though it was full the night before after I bring my dog in. Now I could go out side and blame my neighbors dog that walks thru my yard daily. He is a dog and dogs eat dog food! He is the only dog food eater that I have visually seen. Should I convict him for the missing dog food even though I did not witness him eating the dog food?? Personally I would understand that raccoons, rats, cats and bears are all potential suspects. If my supply of dog food was stable and I really wanted to know for sure what was eating the food I would put up video surveillance. This way I would not have to unnecessarily blame the neighbors dog for something the raccoons or a bear was doing.

Even if you get rid of the seals don't be surprised when you still see predator bites on adult steelhead.

 

[Whitebuck]

Dumb question....if you know there are seals in certain areas of the Cowwy....why haven't we heard any reports of dead seals with bullet holes washed up?

 

[steeler]

I always disregarded seals having a large impact on numbers until I saw one at stamp falls poop kill 4 fish in about 20 minutes even at a time when the river was super low 8 years ago and it was an old crusty guy I was up on the rock and had a perfect view of him. If a mink or an otter has a steelhead over 3 pounds in its mouth its because it was already on its way out or dead especially a mink they are tiny and slow swimmers. Seals could never have been responsible for getting winter numbers into peril but with so few fish they could do harm to the low stocks. Nets, hatcheries and poachers still do way more damage to stocks and nothing is destroying them more right now then the harm done to aquifers from logging and the droughts and high water events its causing which is disturbing spawning grounds and habitat for young. Maybe we should all start fishing with minks you could just cast them out wait for them to easily kill the steelhead and reel the works in, you would have to reel quickly before the beast completely devoured the whole fish though. ……………..

 

[Big Green Machine]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...ow-under-care-of-vancouver-aquarium-1.5044047

 

[Burban]

Ah yes the old guilty by association act. Just like the engo groups blaming fishermen for the demise of Chinook because that is what they see when they look out over the water.

In those pictures I see predator bites. Yes seals eat fish but so do otters. To blame only seals while turning a blind eye to the other creatures of the food web that eat fish is just a blind conviction directed at seals. Not very scientific.

Say I have a food dish on my deck for my dog. Every morning it is empty even though it was full the night before after I bring my dog in. Now I could go out side and blame my neighbors dog that walks thru my yard daily. He is a dog and dogs eat dog food! He is the only dog food eater that I have visually seen. Should I convict him for the missing dog food even though I did not witness him eating the dog food?? Personally I would understand that raccoons, rats, cats and bears are all potential suspects. If my supply of dog food was stable and I really wanted to know for sure what was eating the food I would put up video surveillance. This way I would not have to unnecessarily blame the neighbors dog for something the raccoons or a bear was doing.

Even if you get rid of the seals don't be surprised when you still see predator bites on adult steelhead.

No I did not take video. I went a trip for summer runs and saw the same seal in the same pool chasing fish for the entire 48 hours I was camped nearby. This was a small wild run in a lower tributary of a system that cannot handle that kind of targeted attack. These are fish that have survived the rigors of becoming an adult steelhead in 2018, to return to low, clear water and a seal who found a bounty of trapped steelhead surviving on body fat and waiting to spawn.

I don't blame them, its only smart tactics. Why would I chase a full grown salmon or steelhead in an open ocean when I can chase a salmon in a tight funnel?

@Fishmyster I don't disagree that other animals attack and eat salmon and steelhead in the river as I've witnessed otters on my home river attacking salmon in the hatchery intake pools, and I've seen them walking off with them. I've seen a Bobcat carrying off a sockeye as well. You'd have to be incredibly naïve to think these seals are in the river during peak migration ONLY, and are targeting BUT NOT catching these migrating fish.

So @Fishmyster , in your opinion, what are these seals doing so far up freshwater waterways?

Seals could never have been responsible for getting winter numbers into peril but with so few fish they could do harm to the low stocks.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[onefish]

Fact, Seals need to eat to survive.
Fact, seal population is much higher now than 50 years ago.
Fact, Seals are now seen on a somewhat regular basis in rivers in the winter.
Fact, various people have witnessed seals chasing and at times catching steelhead.
Fact, steelhead populations have been and continue to decline.
Unknown, how much impact are seals having on the steelhead populations?

 

[Burban]

Unknown, how much impact are seals having on the steelhead populatations?

Good question!

In the small river I was referring too that is probably only seeing a couple dozen fish return as adults; quite a bit. Quite possibly irreparable, and a nail in the coffin after all the other cumulative affects. In a river like the Vedder, not so much?

 

[Whitebuck]

Fact- Brought well over a 100 steelhead to hand on the Vedder this season between me and my friend, not one has had a FRESH wound on its body from predation....