The Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society (BCWS) will have a counting fence installed near the mouth of Brooklyn Creek over the next several weeks and is looking for volunteers to assist with the survey of this year鈥檚 coho smolts exiting the creek.
Brooklyn Creek is home to spawning populations of coho and chum salmon as well as resident cutthroat trout, sticklebacks, and sculpins.
This 鈥榗ommunity jewel鈥� has its origin at the Crown Isle and Longland鈥檚 Golf Courses and flows through the City of Courtenay, the Regional District, and the Town of Comox before emptying into Comox Bay at Mac Laing Park.
The BCWS is a community organization that develops and implements projects to facilitate the restoration and protection of the creek. The information collected with this project provides a reference on the value of Brooklyn Creek as a salmon-bearing creek and to determine if past restoration activities are having a positive impact on salmon productivity.
Last year, approximately 3,680 coho smolts were counted over a six-week period as they left Brooklyn Creek and headed out to sea.
The BCWS is hosting an information and practical session about the counting fence on Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the creek site adjacent to 70 Orchard Park Dr. Participants will learn how to handle fish fry collected from the fish trap, data collection and species identification.
The trap will be operational starting April 24 until early June and will require daily monitoring. The process takes about one hour, typically in the morning, and each volunteer is asked to assist about one day each week.
Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Ken Derksen at 250-339-9567 or kenderksen@shaw.ca to reserve a space for the April 20 session.
鈥� Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society
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