Water Stewardship Information Sources

Citation Silvestri, S. 2005. Stock assessment of winter steelhead trout in Goldstream, Sooke, Trent and Tsable Rivers, 2004. Prepared for BC Conservation Foundation.
Organization BC Conservation Foundation
URL http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/acat/documents/r5850/StockAssessmentReportFinal-NonPrintingCopy_1143403749784_bb98440f95634e108ba9ff1269fd7f72.pdf
Abstract/Description or Keywords In 2002, the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF), in conjunction with the BC Ministry of Water,
Land and Air Protection (MWLAP; renamed Ministry of Environment in May 2005), released the
Greater Georgia Basin Steelhead Recovery Plan (GGBSRP; Lill 2002). The primary objective of
the Plan is to stabilize and restore wild steelhead stocks and habitats on the east coast of
Vancouver Island (ECVI), adjacent mainland inlets, and lower Fraser River, to healthy selfsustaining
levels. A secondary objective of the GGBSRP is to maintain and restore angling
opportunities, which benefit both local communities and the provincial economy.
On April 21, 2004, MWLAP released the draft Steelhead Stream Classification-Policy and
Procedure (Appendix A). The policy states that hatchery fish can provide angling benefits,
however the risks imposed to wild steelhead need to be managed in order to maintain wild
steelhead stocks. Thus a stream’s classification will default to wild unless specifically designated
hatchery-augmented. Additionally, streams that are classified wild will be managed to maintain
and protect indigenous stocks while providing an appropriate diversity of angling opportunities.
Hatchery-augmented streams will be managed to maintain or develop new angling opportunities
while managing the risks to wild steelhead. In systems where a population of steelhead has never
existed, been extirpated, or is considered non-viable, hatchery augmentation using a nearby donor
stock may be considered, for the purpose of creating a steelhead retention fishery.
Following guidelines in the draft policy document and in support of the secondary objective of the
GGBSRP, MWLAP fisheries staff proposed that several possible retention fisheries be examined
on Vancouver Island. As a first step
in the process, the BC Conservation
Foundation (BCCF) was contracted
to assess existing wild steelhead
stocks in four candidate watersheds:
Goldstream, Sooke, Trent and
Tsable (Figure 1). This report
describes the 2004 investigations
and compares the results to
provincially identified target levels
of abundance.
Information Type report
Regional Watershed Vancouver Island South, Vancouver Island North
Sub-watershed if known Sooke, Trent, Tsable, Goldstream
Aquifer #
Comments
Project status complete
Contact Name
Contact Email