Cananda: Low returns so far for chum, coho on Goldstream River

The return of chum and coho salmon to spawn in the ­Goldstream River so far is well below last year, according to hatchery officials monitoring the run. Peter McCully, technical adviser of the Goldstream Hatchery, said only 1,500 chum had been counted on the river as of Saturday. That’s a sharp decline from last year, when 5,100 were counted up to the same date. Coho have also fallen short this year, said McCully, with only 300 to 400 counted at the fish fence further up the river, though heavy rains last week and a big fall of maple leaves weighed down the fence and likely caused some coho to slip over unnoticed. The Goldstream is coming off a banner year for chum salmon, with 33,000 returning to spawn last year. The average return is 20,000 and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had estimated a return estimate of 15,000. In 2021, a year that saw extreme flooding and damages to spawning beds and river systems, only 4,000 salmon returned to the Goldstream. Some worried that ...