CLSS finishes Kokanee counts
By Contributor
Volunteers of the Christina Lake Stewardship Society (CLSS) finished their last Kokanee counts in three of the main spawning streams of the lake on Sept. 18.
The CLSS has been doing these enumerations for over a decade, and after the highest counts ever in 2012, the estimated population for 2013 is down. The number of Kokanee within Sutherland Creek declined from 197 to 128, but this is still higher than the count of 11 for 2011.
McRae Creek declined from 176 to 38, but it is good to see Kokanee in this creek nevertheless following the flood and failure of this creek in 2006, where none (or very small numbers) were counted from 2006 to 2012. Sandner Creek declined from 15,210 to 12,582, but this is still the second highest number ever counted.
The volunteers that got out there noted that there were a lot of dead Kokanee within these creeks, and these fish were smaller in size than the previous year. Spawning also occurred earlier this year with counts beginning Aug. 17 and ending Sept. 18.
In 2012 the counts began Aug. 22 and ended Sept 30. Water flow and quality were generally good, and the volunteers had to navigate around slippery logs and deadfall to get their counts.
Overall it was a very successful season thanks to Doug Shannon who coordinated this effort and all the other volunteers that donated their time to do this service for Christina Lake. The CLSS would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to these volunteers.
There was an underwater video taken of the Kokanee spawning in Sandner Creek which you can check out at the CLSS Interpretive Gallery, and they can answer any questions you might have pertaining to the Kokanee populations in Christina Lake. You can visit the gallery Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, or contact them by phone 250-447-2504, or by email clss@shaw.ca.
