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Atlantic salmon spotted in the Campbell River

By Neil Cameron
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A farmed Atlantic salmon, one of several caught off of French Creek last month was frozen and delivered to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for examination. Atlantics have now been found in the Campbell River. Photo by J.R. Rardon/Black Press

By Neil Cameron

Special to the Mirror

Just days before Parks Canada and the Monuments Board of Canada unveiled a plaque honouring Roderick Haig-Brown’s “national historic significance,” four Atlantic salmon showed up in his beloved Campbell River.

The non-native species are believed to be escapees from an Atlantic salmon fish farm near Cypress Island in Washington State that broke up Aug. 19.

Atlantics have also been reported as far north as Tofino on the west side of Vancouver Island, according to Byron Andres, head of the federal Atlantic Salmon Watch program, in various news reports.

Between 2011 and 2017, there were reportedly only three incidents of Atlantic salmon escapes in B.C., with some appearing as far north as Hecate Strait and the Kitimat River.

On Aug. 19 the Cooke Aquaculture-owned operation near Cypress Island containing about 300,000 Atlantic salmon, broke up and set over 165,000 free.

Since then authorities on both sides of the borders are on the hunt for those escapees.

The first report of an Atlantic salmon in the Campbell River came from renowned under-water photographer Eiko Jones.

Jones said he saw an Atlantic salmon of about five to six pounds near the canyon waters of the Campbell River mid-week last week.

Then came a confirmed report of at least four Atlantic salmon being in the Campbell as of last Friday.

On Sunday, members of the Parks Canada and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled a plaque at the annual fall festival held on the Haig-Brown heritage property. Haig-Brown was a world-renowned writer and conservationist. His take on Atlantic salmon being in his river, in September, during the spawning runs, would be interesting.

But previous attempts by both the provincial and federal government to intentionally introduce Atlantic salmon into west coast streams failed.

In the early 1900s, juvenile fish were released into the Campbell, the Coquitlam River, Lillooet River, Harrison Lake, Comox Lake, Horne Lake, Nanaimo Lake, Cowichan Lake and the Koksilah River among others.

Still, DFO says they would like to get the identified Atlantics out of the rivers.

“If we find Atlantic salmon in our river systems as a result of the recent escape we will go in and remove them, not because they present a significant threat, but if we have an opportunity to remove a foreign species, why wouldn’t we?” said Andrew Thomson, regional director for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in a news report.

An update on the situation is scheduled for Friday.