Characteristics of Streams With and Without Atlantic Salmon Observations on Coastal Vancouver Island and Southwestern British Columbia

Description

The introduction of Atlantic salmon on the west coast of Canada due to aquaculture activities has fuelled the debate on the probability of this species colonizing in rivers and streams on this coast. Ongoing monitoring of the Pacific coast watershedis being completed to attempt to quantify the extent that this species is found in freshwater habitats. By summarizing the habitat characteristics of drainages where juvenile and adult Atlantic salmon have been reported on the west coast, future stream surveys can be focused on streams displaying those characteristics. This will provide the most valuable use of funding for these surveys, by maximizing the probability of observing the introduced species if it is present. This type of information has recently been requested by fisheries agencies in Washington state and Alaska.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2004 - 2006

Ecoregion(s)

Pacific: Vancouver Island West Coast

Principal Investigator(s)

Jerry Corriveau
Email: Jerry.Corriveau@dfo-mpo.gc.ca