Adult salmon returning to Grandon Creek

There was a time when Qualicum Beach was known as the Coho capital of Canada.

That was a while ago, before the stocks crashed and fisher folk went elsewhere.

The fishing hasn’t returned to that historical level, but, said Faye Smith, there are some hopeful signs — and they’re swimming up Grandon Creek.

The head of the Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers said extensive efforts to rehabilitate the creek have begun to pay off in a big way, with several reports of Coho salmon swimming up the tiny watercourse.

“Its really the first time we’ve actually seen the adults in the creek since we worked with the town to make it accessible to spawning salmon 10 years ago,” Smith said.

“We had the odd call that someone saw one or two fish, but this year was very, very special because there were so many and people have been phoning me all excited because they’re visible from the trail that goes up West Crescent to Hoy Lake Road.”

Smith said she saw four Coho herself this week when she visited the creek.

“That made me feel really, really great,” she said. “It’s very thrilling for us because just to see them makes it all worthwhile.”

The sight comes on the 10th anniversary of the $200,000 rehabilitation project by the Town of Qualicum Beach and the Streamkeepers to undo the damage of years of neglect and make the stream more accessible to fish.

“It’s very encouraging,” she said. “It was an expensive project and people worked really, really hard. The town has to be commended. It was really great to get them on-side and wanting salmon into the creek as much as we did.

“We worked with engineering and (town engineer) Bob Weir came up with the design for the fishway and people are quite amazed. It’s really something.”

Smith said one of the main reasons for the decline in local Coho stocks has been the degradation of the small creeks and tributaries used by the fish to spawn, so the return of adult fish to the creek is a very good sign.

“A lot of decline had to do with fact these small creeks were ditched or filled in or had culverts.”