Shelly smolt count reaches over 8000 in 2012

The 2012 Shelly Creek Smolt Trap report has been uploaded to the website (Newsroom - Published Documents - Shelly Creek Smolt Trap Reports) or you can download the report directly here.

Shelly Creek is a small tributary that enters the Englishman River just upstream of the orange bridge in Parksville.   MVIHES has been coordinating a smolt count on the creek since 2011 with funding from Pacific Salmon Foundation, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Public Involvement Program with support from the DFO Community Advisors Dave Davies and the tireless work of volunteer members of MVIHES and the Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers.  The purpose of the trap was to ascertain the anadromous use of this channel during months of high flow. 

Despite the fact that Shelly Creek has been negatively impacted by agriculture and urbanization in the form of ditches and culvarts from its headwaters in Errington to its confluence with the Englishman River, cutthroat trout are found the entire length of the stream and based on the information being gathered from the smolt trap the lower reaches of the creek make for more than adequate spawning habitat and the creek is an important overwintering habitat from the main-stem of the Englishman River during high flow conditions.

We are planning to operate the smolt trap again in 2013 to continue to gather data on the wild fish populations using the creek.