Rock slide in Fraser River, B.C., may hinder salmon passage

Sept 6, 2019 Big Bar Landslide update

  • Due to the number of salmon swimming past the landslide, focus has shifted from transporting fish via helicopter to radio tagging passing salmon and other methods of monitoring such as direct observations and hydroacoustics. Pink salmon are being closely tracked to asses their ability to travel upstream. On September 4, radio-tagged pink salmon successfully swam past the slide. The Incident Management Team is preparing to immediately resume catching and transporting fish if required.
  • Crews will visit two hydroacoustic monitoring sites upstream of the slide today to gather data to assess the health and movement of fish swimming past the slide.
  • Rock scalers continue to work at the base of the slide, on the west side of the river, to further open the passage for fish. Crews are also continuing to scale the east canyon wall to allow the installation of an anchor point, which will facilitate further work to restore the passage. Water levels continue to drop, so plans are constantly evolving to meet the changing conditions.

Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: - Chinook: -
Total to Date Sockeye: 51,260 Chinook: 8,505

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_sept_6.pdf
 
That's odd i thought they said it was a total blockage now they are saying some chinook were getting by as of August 12

upload_2019-9-8_18-40-39.png
 
Whitebuck said:
Too little to late Jonathan.
I am not buying your propaganda “all is well ********”.
You let complete runs of Chinook and Sockeye crash on your watch.
Some of these stocks will never recover without enhancement.
You and your puppets will head accountable for the biggest collapse on the Fraser since the slide of 1913.

Why not continue to transport the pinks until you know for sure they are making it past the slide?
Why take the risk of waiting and seeing? What if they are not making it past the slide?

Where is your recovery plan?
(and steelhead too)
Click to expand...
 
The only recovery plan is hatchery hatchery hatchery, Look at most of the fisheries on this coast without hatcheries they would be toast.

It's because of human development is why we need them, We have developed around just about every stream in this provence, none of the flows in them are nature anymore.

The Liberal Wild salmon policy tho is against them.

Reducing fishing is a tool but it should not be the only tool.
 
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I sure hope we are not dealing with this next summer, As I understand it there is a pretty small window for construction of a long term solution. Probably has to be build this fall before winter and spring freshet.
 
cohochinook said:
Did they ever complete the road that would have allowed ground transport of fish? Just wondering if passage becomes a problem at any other time in the future, it certainly would be critical to have that completed.
Click to expand...

Yes it's all done and tested and ready for use if needed. I suspect that this road in will be needed for future work to bring in equipment and personal to work on the base of the slide area. The goal would be to have safe passage for salmon without help from continued intervention.



Sept 2, 2019 Big Bar Landslide update

• A successful trial run of transporting salmon by road was conducted yesterday. This method is now available to use. Ground transport will be vital to handle increasing numbers when pink salmon run arrives. It also presents the possibility of continuing to move fish into the evening, when helicopters can no longer fly, though the logistics and safety of this are still being assessed.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_sept_2.pdf
 
https://aptnnews.ca/2019/09/11/salmon-swimming-past-b-c-landslide-on-their-own-but-is-it-enough/

Salmon swimming past B.C. landslide on their own – but is it enough?

This is the first year Esk’etemc doesn’t have salmon for its community and although Robbins is happy with the recent salmon success at the landslide, he says more could have been done.

“I like what I see happening now, but when the landslide first happened I think a state of emergency should have been declared,” says Robbins.

“And I strongly believe they should have been transporting fish earlier, and there should have been a complete closure for all fisheries along the coast.”

The Tsilhqot’in Nation also believes closures are needed.

At the beginning of August, they declared a local state of emergency because of the salmon crisis from the landslide and issued a salmon closure last week, prohibiting sockeye, chinook, and coho retention on the Chilcotin, Chilko, and Taseko rivers and tributaries.

(Kukpi7 (Chief) Fred Robbins of Esk’etemc First Nation held a ceremony for the salmon by the Big Bar Landslide. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Hand)

Chief Jimmy Lulua of Xeni Gwet’in First Nation says the Tsilhqot’in have never had to put restrictions on their members.

“The only people that have had restrictions are Indigenous people,” says Lulua. “DFO’s mandate is if First Nations’ needs are not being met than they have to shut down sport fishing. We’ve tested that theory and it doesn’t work. We shut down our fishing, other First Nations along the river have shut down their fishing, but yet sport fishing is still happening.

“Governments have done nothing. They say they want to work with us, but at the end of the day actions speak louder than words.”

The landslide also prompted four Tsilhqot’in communities to buy fish from Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island.

Hundreds of coho arrived on a flatbed trailer last week.

“This is the first time in our history that we have had to buy fish and to me that is unacceptable,” says Lulua.

“There was expected a million fish to make it back to our spawning beds so a couple thousand fish making it over the slide to me is unacceptable. Something has to change.

“When you threaten our fish, you threaten our livelihoods and that means we go to war.”
 
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Sept 8, 2019 Big Bar Landslide Timeline Update

timeline.png
 
Sept 11, 2019 Big Bar Landslide Update

• Today, the fish transport truck, pictured right, will complete another test run. Successful truck transport test runs have previously been completed. However, today’s transport will further refine the process and logistics for future truck transport operations. • Yesterday, helicopters had a productive day of sluicing the canyon wall on the east side of the Fraser River. Sluicing operations were focused on removing large boulders that have been identified as a hazard. This work is being done to aid long term planning that will support safe access for crews on the east side of the landslide.

• After a two day weather delay, rock scalers resumed operations on the west side of the landslide yesterday. Lower water levels allowed scaling crews to identify problematic areas that will require rock manipulation or removal. Scaling operations will continue today, aimed at further aiding ease of fish passage.

• With the arrival of Pink salmon expected later this week, crews are prepared to resume transport by air and ground, if required. Gear and resource retrieval is underway.

• Yesterday, the Environmental Unit had a productive day forecasting potential needs should natural passage not be achievable by Pink salmon. As water levels drop, the possibility of building a road to the base of the slide continues to be investigated.

Fish Swimming Past the Landslide (estimated)
Latest daily total: 5,907
Total to date: 160,585

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p...update_big_bar_landslide_incident_sept_11.pdf
 
Sept 12, 2019 Big Bar Landslide Update

• Yesterday, the fish transport truck completed its planned test run. Fish were captured below the landslide and successfully transported above the slide. This confirms that truck transport is a viable option should it be required in the future.

• Sluicing operations earlier this week allowed scaling crews to safely remove two massive boulders from the canyon wall on the east side of the slide site. The removal of these two boulders was critical to getting scalers further down the east wall. Today, scalers will continue to work on both the east and west canyon walls. Work on the east wall will support safe access for crews, while work on the west wall is aimed at maintaining successful fish passage.

• On-going hydraulic assessments are tracking changes to environmental conditions and water levels. As hydraulic conditions fluctuate, the flows, turbidity and temperatures all play a significant role in both fish health and passage conditions.

• Yesterday, the fish tagging team caught more fish than anticipated. This allowed the team to apply more tags and collect DNA and lipid samples (to determine energy reserves) of fish below the slide.

• To date, upwards of 166,000 salmon have succeeded in swimming past the landslide. Radio tag evidence and hydroacoustic monitoring has confirmed that Sockeye, Chinook and Pink salmon have all achieved natural passage.

• Pink salmon are due to arrive in large amounts by the end of the week. As Pink salmon are a smaller species they may have more of a challenge passing through the landslide. Although Pink salmon have been able to successfully pass to date, crews are prepared to resume transport by air and ground, should conditions change.

Fish Swimming Past the Landslide (estimated)
Latest daily total: 5800
Total to date: 166,400

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p...update_big_bar_landslide_incident_sept_12.pdf
 
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