Fish Count

One of the key indicators for measuring the health of our streams as wild fish habitat is the physical count of fish numbers. For several years, QBS operated a spring coho smolt fish fence on the lower Grandon Creek, which succeeded in confirming significant number of smolt were exiting the stream. 

However, the steep grade on the creek and storm produced high water flows resulted in repeated damage to the fence.  As a result, the count results were only partially complete. In 2020, an alternative approach was adopted – late summer pool seining  to capture, count and identify fish populations. 

Over a period of several years, this is a scientifically sound method of collecting consistent numbers which can be extrapolated to the entire stream length.

Results indicate that each small pool, at a time of year with the lowest water levels and lowest populations, hold several dozen fish. 

The general shares are two thirds coho and one third resident cutthroat trout. Despite the small size of many pools, the water quality and temperature continues to be good, due to steady groundwater infiltration from the upper watersheds. Tracking these population numbers will be essential to judge the impact of increasingly difficult stream conditions in the future.

Beach Creek

Grandon Creek