Thousands of salmon were seen in a creek on Saturday in Port Coquitlam, an encouraging sign for returns, according to an expert.
There were so many spawning Coho below the hatchery at Noon’s Creek in Port Moody, many bystanders stopped to watch the salmon on the side of a trail.
The record-breaking stretch of late summer weather and drought conditions had many worried about the state of local salmon runs, which have a biological clock that dictates when they leave the ocean to spawn.
“We were here just a few weeks ago and this area was completely dry and impassable for fish,” said Tracy Green, a Pacific Salmon Foundation spokesperson.
“We weren’t very hopeful that the salmon was going to have an opportunity to come back.”
A viral video from a few weeks ago showed thousands of dead fish after they went up streams that had gone dry.
Now, with an influx of fall rain, the salmon are returning to their spawning grounds.
While experts say it’s too soon to tell how the drought affected the local returns, the picture so far is one of resilience.
“Salmon are back,” said Green. “That’s definitely a good (sign).”