Paint Reported in Hoy Creek

Photo: Wayne Noble

On June 17, 2020, the Society was alerted to a spill report made by a resident. The substance smelled like and appeared to be white paint. The Society check two spots along the creek between the spill area and the hatchery, as well as hatchery fish, and all appeared well and isolated to the inflow area east of Walton School on Hoy Trail.

The Society was advised that City of Coquitlam staff were dispatched just after 6 p.m. to the spill site. They reported that the spill appeared small, and City staff checked the outfall and pulled the street manholes in an attempt to get a direction of the paint but neither showed colour.

The sweep of the area did not indicate the source. City staff also check the site at the same time the following day (June 18th) for more evidence in case the activity continued but there was no spill identified.

The Society would like to remind Coquitlam residents that storm drains lead directly to our waterways, and everyone should exercise caution when disposing of pollutants, which includes paint.

To report a spill in the creek click here.

CLICK HERE TO READ HOME TIPS FOR HEALTHY STREAMS

New Executive Voted in at HSWS AGM

View fullsize

To commemorate the new executive, we met at Hoy Creek on the weekend to pose for this group (distanced) photo. Left to right: Anne Woosnam; Tyler Storgaard, Emily Rossi, Kim Mayes, Lani Lehun and Robbin Whachell. Missing from the photo is Kyle Uno, Rodney Lee, and Sandra Uno (see bottom photo).

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society held its annual general meeting on May 20. The meeting, with elections, were held virtually through Zoom conferencing.

Stepping down and thanked after serving 3 terms was secretary Emily Rossi. Rodney Lee was also thanked for his ongoing service and leadership. He stepped down as vice president but both he and Emily remain on the board.

The new vice president is Tyler Storgaard who has also been acting as the assistant hatchery manager since September 2019. Sandra Uno is the new secretary, and new directors are Kim Mayes, Rodney Lee, Lani Lehun, Anne Woosnam, and Emily Rossi.

The newly elected join current executive, treasurer Kyle Uno, and president Robbin Whachell.

Sitting in on the AGM was Member of Parliament for Coquitlam / Port Coquitlam, Ron McKinnon, and coordinator of the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable  Sharee Dubowits.

May 20 AGM over Zoom. HSWS treasurer, Kyle Uno delivers the financial report for the year.

“I’m excited about our continued growth as a Society,” said president Robbin Whachell. “We have moved from strength to strength and this would not be possible without the spirit of this dynamic and extremely motivated group of volunteers.”

While the society is currently not engaging in any group activities due to the pandemic, the fish are being monitored by daily feeders, the hatchery has weekly check-ins by management, and all is being overseen by the Department of Fisheries & Oceans.

Hoy - Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Unable to make the group HSWS executive board photo at the creek in the top photo, here are Rodney Lee (Director), Kyle Uno (Treasurer) and Sandra Uno (Secretary).

No Fanfare for Salmon Leaving Home at Hoy Creek Hatchery

View fullsize

Hatchery manager, Rodney Lee looks over the channel where the fish were released in a non-traditional manner this year due to COVID-19. No festival took place.

On May 16, a few Hoy/Scott Watershed Society members came out to the Hoy Creek Hatchery to witness the release of the coho smolts.

What has become known as a favourite community affair where children and adults help with releasing the fish with buckets, was kept hushed this year due to COVID-19. A few residents who happened to be out for a walk stood by to observe as hatchery manager Rodney Lee, and assistant hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard released the boards to open the waterway between the rearing pond and Hoy Creek.

Society volunteers see this particular coho brood of approximately 2700 as special because they were the resilient survivors of a major fish kill in May 2019 where thousands of fish in the hatchery and in the creek died of an unknown chemical substance.

View fullsize

Assistant hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard mans the channel where coho salmon smolts were released to the lower pond, where local residents can be seen peering into.

The weather was wet, which did not help visibility for the onlookers, but our team was able to use a Go-pro for some underwater shots, and once the fish made their way through the back pond and down the metal weir to Hoy Creek, it helped us capture this video for our Youtube page. (see videos below)

Now that our rearing pond has been emptied, it will be cleaned and then refilled to prepare for the transfer of our coho fry (broodstock from winter 2019/20). The fry will first undergo an adipose fin clip to identify them as hatchery fish.

Once in the rearing pond, they will remain there until their release at Salmon Leave Home in May 2021.

“We’d like to thank our dedicated and small group of volunteers,” said Society president, Robbin Whachell. “From our daily feeders to those that helped out during Saturday work sessions to monitor the health of our fish and help maintain the riparian area. We also want to thank our neighours, the public, and the residents who keep a watchful eye over the watershed and alert us and the authorities of anything suspicious or negligent.”

It should be noted that since mid-March and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoy/Scott Watershed Society has cancelled all Saturday work sessions, all in-person meetings and hatchery tours or open houses until further notice.

Check out our Facebook page ‘photos section’ for more images.

Hoy - Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We are actively involved in watershed restoration, public awareness, education, and preservation.

Surplus Coho Salmon Fry Released by Hoy/Scott Watershed Society

View fullsize

Hatchery manager, Rodney Lee buckets coho fry for transfer to another location.

In May 2020, Hoy Creek Hatchery held approximately 13,620 coho fry.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's annual aquaculture license with federal fisheries allows us to incubate up to 25,000 eggs but only release 5,000 1-year-old Coho smolts from that brood year in May.

Any excess are released to the Upper Hoy and Scott Creeks to areas of the stream where wild fry are not present. In addition, fry are released to Pinnacle Pond. From those locations, the Coho fry can make use of the habitat, grow and eventually make their way out to the ocean to complete their lifecycle.

On May 16, HSWS volunteers Rodney Lee and Tyler Storgaard weighed and counted out our surplus of 8,620 fry and loaded up the truck for transport and released them at 5 different locations. The fry weighed approximately 1.3 grams and are about 5 months old.

View fullsize

Transfer tub in the back of the truck

The Coquitlam locations where surplus coho fry were released on Saturday were: Upper Hoy Creek at Camelback Ct off of Plateau; Upper Scott Creek at Panorama by Bramblewood; Upper Scott Creek at Tanglewood Lane; Beaver Pond at Scott Creek; Lower Beaver Pond; and Pinnacle Pond.

Once our remaining fry grow to 2 – 3 grams they will be ready for marking, and will have their adipose fins clipped to identify them as hatchery fish. Our hatchery fry continue to be hand-fed twice per day.

After clipping they will be transferred to the rearing pond west of the hatchery where they will mature until the Salmon Leave Home event in May 2021.

View fullsize

The fry weighed approximately 1.3 grams and are about 5 months old.

View fullsize

Tips on Placing Painted Stones Along Our Trails

Stone in tree along Hoy Trail, Coquitlam

These have been challenging times with the COVID-19 epidemic. The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society appreciates the pressures put on parents and children to remain active, and we have enjoyed spotting many painted stones along the watershed trails which we began noticing around the Easter weekend.

Since then there has been an increase, and we expect to see more and take delight that families are enjoying the forest while leaving a painted stone behind to be marveled upon by the next passerby.

That said we do find concern in the number of stones now being spotted in our creeks. Please enjoy your walks, and also take this opportunity to teach your children about the wonders and fragility of our ecosystem.

View fullsize

Painted stones and trash collected from Hoy Creek

We’d like to offer a few tips about painted stones that could help our forests and our creek-life:

• Ensure the paint you use is non-toxic

• Do not use glitters or sparkles

• Do not use stickers

• Place your stone away from waterways. (You may have placed your stone along the trail, but someone may toss it into the creek if it’s a ‘stone’s throw away.’)

If we can ensure we’re all doing our best to protect nature, we’ll get twice as much enjoyment from walking our trails and finding these wonderful stones left by unknown and well-intended woodland fairies!

View fullsize

A stone seen within the creek. This particular stone was removed from a Society volunteer and placed along the trail. It was seen back in the creek two days later.

View fullsize

Enjoy painting stones, but please think of our fish and our environment. Thank you!

Knotweed Along Hoy Trail Requires Proper Treatment to Be Contained

View fullsize

Signs mounted by the City of Coquitlam in the effected area along Hoy Trail

We'd like to thank the unknown citizen/s who took time to work on hacking down, cutting and uprooting the invasive Knotweed along Hoy Trail north of the hatchery and adjacent to Walton Elementary. Unfortunately, what this person/s did not realize is that they were actually making the matter worse, as the plant spreads through root and stem fragments.

We appreciate concerns because Knotweed is one tough invasive!

“Knotweeds’ vigorous rhizome growth can damage concrete walls, pavement, bridge and building foundations, drainage works and flood prevention structures (Global Invasive Species Database 2017), and cause erosion of shorelines. Knotweeds can also affect motorist, cyclist, and pedestrian safety by blocking sightlines and signs along roads, highways, trails, and other transportation routes. Dense thickets can increase concerns about personal security in parks (Yong 2017). They can also be a nuisance for aquatic recreationalists frequenting lakes, streams, or rivers as uncontrolled infestations can impede access.”

The work of uprooting and cutting this plant into pieces was only giving it more opportunity to spread. The city’s parks department was called in to remove the cuttings and roots left in piles along the trail. Knotweed has to be disposed of properly to thwart its growth at the site and potentially elsewhere where it is being disposed to.

“Knotweeds spread by rhizomes, which can extend up to 3 metres deep and 20 metres wide. These expansive rhizomes are much larger than expected for a plant of its size, making knotweeds even more challenging to manage. New plants sprout from fragments of root and stem material. Even very small fragments (0.7 grams or more) of the rhizomes or stems can regenerate, which enables knotweeds to spread very easily and effectively. Buried rhizomes can regenerate from depths of 1 metre or more. One common cause of spread is Best Management Practices for Knotweed Species in the Metro Vancouver Region 5 from unauthorized dumping of cut or dug knotweed in green spaces or natural areas.”

View fullsize

Uprooted and cut knotweed along Hoy Trail.

The Society would like to thank the City of Coquitlam for cleaning up the site and properly disposing of the remains, as well as erecting signs in the area to help educate the public.

View fullsize

Should you have a concern about an invasive within our parks you should contact the City of Coquitlam.

Learn more about the invasive species, Knotweed HERE from the City of Coquitlam. More information at BC Invasives HERE.

View fullsize

HSWS Volunteer Maya Uno Wins REACH Award

Maya in front of Hoy Creek Hatchery ready to lead a tour.

As a part of the 2020 Youth Week, the Tri-Cities held the REACH Awards virtually to recognize those working to significantly empower, celebrate and impact youth in the community. REACH stands for Recognizing Efforts and Achievements across Community and Home, and nominations for this year’s awards were accepted in March and April.

We are pleased to report that Maya Uno of the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society won in the youth category. The press release by the City of Coquitlam states that, “Maya Uno, is an active volunteer at Hoy Creek Hatchery’s salmon enhancement program whose dedication sets an example for the hatchery’s other youth volunteers.”

All recipients were congratulated by the mayor of Coquitlam, Richard Stewart.

“Maya is well-deserving of this award,” said HSWS president, Robbin Whachell. “She has been helping the Society since she was 12 years old and will graduate high school this year.”

The following is from our nomination:

For over 7 years, Maya has been actively volunteering at the Hoy Creek Hatchery with the salmon enhancement program. She's led tours of the hatchery for visiting judges of the annual Communities in Bloom competition that the City competes in and leads summer tours for children from schools, daycares, as well as city programs. Maya also sits on the local committee on invasive species. Currently, she's a weekly salmon feeder at the hatchery and is leading the development of a new 'salmon talk' to be provided to children and adults at the society's annual Salmon Come Home event, formerly done by salmon educator, the late Chris Hamming.

Maya led 25 tours over the summer months, continues to assist with weekly hatchery monitoring and fish feeding. She's also assisting in the society's historic record transfer to the City Archives and leading the reorganization of the hatcheries office and supply area. She manned the society's booth at the City's Welcome to Coquitlam event answering questions and educating the public about the society and the watershed. She helped with the annual stream clean in August helping remove trash from Scott Creek. She is currently working on reestablishing the 'Salmon Talk' which she is developing for the next 'Salmon Come Home' event in fall 2020. Maya often helps lead hatchery open houses.

The Society has watched Maya grow up and mature over the past seven years and is extremely proud of the work Maya continues to do. She's setting an example for the other youth members in the group (and our community), and takes it upon herself to show up at monthly Society meetings and provides constructive input which often leading to positive change. She's comfortable speaking to the public during tours or at our Society events or city events. She has a keen interest in sharing her knowledge. 

In 2015, and at the age of 12, Maya was acknowledged for her work with the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society by the City of Coquitlam for her environmental work. That same year Mia organized a half-day field trip for her school class to the Hoy Creek hatchery and watershed, where they learned about the salmon and the enhancement program with hands-on actives. They also learned about invasive and non-invasive plants species and did some planting along Hoy Creek.

Congratulations Maya! We are fortunate to have your support.

(Other articles related to Maya.)

HSWS Salutes our Dedicated Volunteers!

Spring 2020 riparian work

April 19 through 25 is National Volunteer Week in Canada, and we would like to take this time to thank our dedicated volunteers who make up our Society. 

We come together to make our community and our environment a better place.

From our daily feeders to our youth group and Saturday morning work session members, to those who lead and work administratively; collectively, we all make it happen!

Maya, Earl and Lilian representing HSWS at a Coquitlam city hall event.

Saturday morning youth volunteers in the winter after gathering cuttings to later plant in spring.

Summer 2019 creek clean.

Ririka and Steven mark storm drains with yellow fish in summer 2019.

Broodstock collection 2019/20

Salmon Come Home 2019

Fish Kill Reported in Hoy Creek

Submitted photo

A fish kill in Hoy Creek was reported to Hoy/Scott Watershed Society and the City of Coquitlam on Sunday, April 12 after dead fry were seen on the bottom of the creek.

The city reported to the Society that their staff attended the creek on Sunday and went out again an additional two times this week. Approximately 20 – 30 fish were observed dead on Sunday with no new reports since then.

The incident appeared to localized in the stretch of the Hoy Creek around Hialeah Court and Woodbine Place.

There were no indications of contaminants (no smell, nothing observed in the creek, etc.) and there were smaller fry and water striders observed upstream and downstream of the dead fish.

There is always the possibility that someone discharged chlorinated water into the storm drain while cleaning their swimming pool or hot tub, but the chlorine evaporates fairly quickly and is very difficult to trace.

City staff also reported the incident to the Provincial Environment Officer who didn’t believe there was any point in taking a sample of the water or dead fish given that the contaminant was already gone.

The Society would like to remind Coquitlam residents that storm drains lead directly to our waterways, and everyone should exercise caution when disposing of pollutants, which includes chemicals used for cleaning hot tubs and pools, etc.

To report a spill in the creek click here.

Click here to read Home Tips for Healthy Streams

Hatchery Update – The Coho Fry Stage

View fullsize

Coho fry approximately 5 month old.

Since our last update, a lot has changed, not only with our eggs hatching, alevin emerging and now maturing to swim-up fry but the global pandemic we face.  As a result of COVID-19, Hoy-Scott Watershed Society has made the decision to cancel all Saturday work sessions, all in-person meetings, and hatchery tours or open houses until further notice including our annual Salmon Leave Home event.  

Behind the scenes, our volunteers continue to provide the daily aquaculture care including feeding, filter and equipment/tank cleaning supporting the 2018/2019 broodstock held in our rearing pond and the 2019/2020 swim-up fry that have been transferred from the incubator to our Capilano trough.

Three of our four Coho Salmon trays in the incubator have matured to fry with only a faint reminder on their bellies where a yolk sack once was (from the Alevin lifecycle stage).  These three trays have been transferred to our Capilano trough and all at different times as they each reach their maturity as swim-up fry. As of today, we have almost 8000 fry held in our Capilano trough (on the east side of the hatchery building), and the final incubator tray is just days away from joining the rest as they mature. Our survival rate has been over 99% with this year's collection and we will have almost 14,000 coho salmon.

Fry are ponded and move from the incubation room to the Capilano trough on the east side of the hatchery.

When first ponded, the fry undergo a vital change – it takes some time (between 20-40 mins or more), but they eventually swim-up to the surface to take in air.  Over a period, they will take several surface gulps of air that fill up their swim bladder allowing them to hold a position in the water (i.e. float). As the fry begin to stabilize and adjust to this new environment, we begin to feed them with food for their first time; previously as alevin, they fed off their yolk sacks. 

Our fry along with wild salmon have developed dark bars on their sides by now, called parr marks.  In a natural environment, these bars help them to camouflage with the gravel and blend in with their surroundings to hide from predators like birds.  Coho fry within Hoy creek and other estuaries will be visible if you are to patiently wait and watch long enough in eddies and still pools.

As the weather improves, we find ourselves getting out to complete yard work, clean the exterior of the house, clean the car, among many other activities.  With each of these activities, we should stop and think about where the fertilizer run-off goes, the same about the paint that fell off the fence or house during washing, the soap that removed the grime from the car and even the sand with some murky water that left the driveway bright grey once again.  All of these are pollutants and we must each do our part to ensure these don’t end up in our watershed or elsewhere in the environment. 

Also when taking a walk through the watershed on sunny days, remember how nice it is to be in the cool shade.  Wild salmon in the creek including our hatchery fish rely on shade created from large boulders, overhanging bushes, tree stumps or fallen logs to keep the water cool.  Wooded debris in the creek not only provides shade but food sources and also acts as a natural aerator to keep up the oxygen in the water for the fish to survive. Please remember to leave the branches, logs and creek banks the way they are found to ensure the creek remains stable, healthy and productive with life.

If you have questions or are interested in volunteering with the society, please contact us at hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com. Be sure to check out our Facebook page for more photos of our work and of nature along the watershed.