On Thursday morning at around 8:30, Roger Milsted, in his role of hatchery manager, checked the Terminal Creek Fish Hatchery and was greeted by a pungent smell. He checked the water levels and, finding them low, notified Bill Newport, president of the Bowen Island Fish and Wildlife Club. By 9:30 a.m., Milsted, with the help of members of the Fish and Wildlife Club, had moved about 1,000 Coho fry to the lagoon.
The quick action saved the seven-months-old Coho salmon but Newport says that this is not the first time the hatchery has been in a situation like this. "We have had reoccurring problems with the water levels in Terminal Creek over the last 15 years," he said. Newport received the call from Milsted this morning and immediately checked the water levels in Grafton Lake, the source of the water for Terminal Creek. "Grafton Lake was low and Carter Pond was also very low. Terminal Creek was almost completely dry at the hatchery." In the past, this has not been associated with low water levels but was a result to depleted water sources due to consumption.
This time, the reduced water flow had a different cause. "I phoned the municipality and was told that they have had a pump going," Newport said, adding that it's the municipality's responsibility to ensure that the creek carries enough water for those who hold a water license like the hatchery.
This morning, the pump was working but a recently built beaver dam prevented the water from reaching its destination.
The dam has now been demolished but Newport thinks that the beavers will build it up again. Even though the fry were transported to the lagoon, the dry creek would have an effect on resident cutthroat trout and Coho salmon that live in Bowen streams for one year after they're fertilized before going into the ocean, according to Newport. In the future, he hopes for a better flow of information (in addition to water) so that the Fish and Wildlife Club can be aware of any potential harmful situation.
