Hundreds of dead salmon still 'chock-full' of eggs found in Abbotsford, B.C., creek

A group of streamkeepers in Abbotsford, B.C., are worried about a surprising number of female salmon washing up dead on the banks, still “chock-full” of eggs that weren’t spawned.

The Abbotsford Ravine Park Salmon Enhancement Society has found 217 dead female salmon out of a total 379 counted at Stoney Creek in the past few weeks, according to volunteer Alexandra Munday.

“It's really concerning. We really have never seen this before,” she said.

“This is my first year doing this creek, but I'm a fisheries technician as my day job, and so I haven't seen it any other places.”

Munday said it’s been a heavy run of fish this year, but explained that makes the deaths of unspawned fish even more concerning.

“We have a lot of fish in the stream, but we have even fewer than we would normally expect that are actually able to spawn,” Munday said.

Doug Gosling, another volunteer, noted the group is also finding leeches on the salmons’ gills and head area. While leeches are common in B.C., he said it’s an unusual phenomenon.

“It’s the heavy infestation around the gills that looks alarming,” Gosling said. “And no, we haven’t seen that in other years.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada said it takes pollution and threats to the environment seriously.

A department spokesperson said officials have been notified of the “fish mortality event” at Stoney Creek and they will continue to verify compliance.

The spokesperson encouraged people who see pollution in Stoney Creek to contact the provincial Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.

Gosling said he hopes water quality testing by government officials will come next.

“We, hopefully, can get some answers to what the problem is here.”