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Last year at this time, the spawning population estimate for the Chilcotin steelhead was 120 fish, down from 418 in 2015 and a peak of 3,000 in 1985
Fewer than 40 adult steelhead returned to their spawning grounds in the Chilko River this spring, according to correspondence obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Branch.
Eight fish were observed in the Chilko on May 28, which is assumed to be roughly 20 per cent of the spawners in the area. Officials put the total at 38 fish by applying a multiplier. |
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“You’ve got an entire run depending on the spawning success of just a few individuals, and that is how animals go extinct,” said Eric Taylor, a quantitative biologist at the University of B.C.
While climate change and pressure from salmon fisheries likely contribute to the decline of B.C.’s Interior steelhead runs, at this point a turn of bad weather or a rock slide could finish off a population that is already designated an “extreme conservation concern.”
“With 38 fish, maybe only 10 are going to contribute to the next generation, all bets are off, they could easily be wiped out,” said Taylor. |
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