Salmon counts at the Big Bar landslide site

Fish passage

Fish passage

Radio tagging and SONAR monitoring activities concluded on October 24, 2020. A thorough post-season evaluation is underway to determine 2020 fish passage data by species.

During the 2020 Fraser salmon migration, two types of monitoring methods were used above and below the Big Bar landslide site to track fish passage – hydroacoustic sonars and radio tagging.

Hydroacoustic monitoring uses sonar technology to count the number of salmon successfully passing through the slide site and track their continued migration. The equipment only counts the number of salmon and, while technicians can delineate between species in most cases, it does not provide data on which stocks are passing by.

Radio tagging involves inserting a tag into a fish’s stomach or attaching it to their back. The radio tag emits a signal that is detected by a shore-based receiver. The monitoring team has installed a network of radio receivers to monitor fish passage through the main stem of the Fraser River and into major spawning streams, including many in the area of the slide. Location data from these tags contributes information towards the passage rate of fish and the survival-to-spawn rate of the stocks.

The table below highlights fish movement at and above the slide site on a daily basis, including the number of fish using alternative passage systems.

Date Number of salmon radio tagged below the Big Bar landslide site
 Number of salmon using alternative fish passage systems Number of fish 40 km upstream of Big Bar landslide siteFootnote 1Footnote 2
Truck and transport
 Whooshh Passage Portal™
2020-05-26 0 0 0 0
2020-05-27 0 0 0 0
2020-05-28 0 0 0 0
2020-05-29 0 0 0 0
2020-05-30 0 0 0 0
2020-05-31 0 0 0 0
2020-06-01 0 0 0 0
2020-06-02 0 0 0 0
2020-06-03 0 0 0 0
2020-06-04 0 0 0 0
2020-06-05 0 0 0 0
2020-06-06 0 0 0 0
2020-06-07 0 0 0 0
2020-06-08 1 0 0 0
2020-06-09 4 0 0 0
2020-06-10 4 0 0 0
2020-06-11 6 0 0 0
2020-06-12 6 0 0 0
2020-06-13 1 0 0 0
2020-06-14 1 0 0 0
2020-06-15 5 0 0 0
2020-06-16 5 0 0 0
2020-06-17 7 0 0 0
2020-06-18 4 0 0 0
2020-06-19 1 0 0 0
2020-06-20 0 0 0 9
2020-06-21 0 0 0 9
2020-06-22 1 0 0 3
2020-06-23 1 0 0 0
2020-06-24 0 0 0 0
2020-06-25 0 0 0 0
2020-06-26 0 0 0 0
2020-06-27 0 0 0 0
2020-06-28 0 0 0 0
2020-06-29 0 0 0 3
2020-06-30 0 0 0 0
2020-07-01 1 0 0 3
2020-07-02 0 0 0 8
2020-07-03 0 0 0 0
2020-07-04 0 0 0 0
2020-07-05 0 0 0 0
2020-07-06 0 0 0 0
2020-07-07 0 0 0 0
2020-07-08 0 0 0 0
2020-07-09 3 0 0 12
2020-07-10 19 0 0 6
2020-07-11 22 0 0 0
2020-07-12 26 0 0 0
2020-07-13 24 0 0 3
2020-07-14 20 0 0 0
2020-07-15 20 0 0 6
2020-07-16 19 0 0 0
2020-07-17 11 0 0 0
2020-07-18 0 4 0 0
2020-07-19 0 0 0 0
2020-07-20 3 0 0 3
2020-07-21 4 0 0 0
2020-07-22 14 0 0 0
2020-07-23 25 0 0 6
2020-07-24 7 0 0 3
2020-07-25 0 0 0 0
2020-07-26 0 32 0 0
2020-07-27 5 78 0 18
2020-07-28 1 0 314 36
2020-07-29 35 0 244 48
2020-07-30 1 0 373 33
2020-07-31 0 0 813 36
2020-08-01 0 0 683 96
2020-08-02 0 0 75 237
2020-08-03 22 31 17 543
2020-08-04 29 281 20 1,055
2020-08-05 25 235 1,232 1,359
2020-08-06 0 28 282 2,502
2020-08-07 0 189 339 2,705
2020-08-08 0 115 0 5,072
2020-08-09 0 121 135 7,005
2020-08-10 23 250 609 9,828
2020-08-11 12 163 602 8,114
2020-08-12 31 0 286 9,540
2020-08-13 0 0 29 11,045
2020-08-14 0 0 11 10,037
2020-08-15 0 0 211 4,635
2020-08-16 0 0 64 3,231
2020-08-17 0 0 414 4,149
2020-08-18 4 0 349 4,380
2020-08-19 24 0 223 6,216
2020-08-20 13 0 212 4,872
2020-08-21 17 0 94 6,300
2020-08-22 0 0 199 n/a
2020-08-23 0 0 0 n/a
2020-08-24 4 0 322 3,546
2020-08-25 8 0 85 4,506
2020-08-26 4 0 25 6,174
2020-08-27 0 0 0 3,090
2020-08-28 9 0 0 2,322
2020-08-29 0 0 4 2,772
2020-08-30 0 0 0 1,017
2020-08-31 3 0 0 387
2020-09-01 8 0 0 444
2020-09-02 15 0 0 1,464
2020-09-03 7 0 4 3960
2020-09-04 6 0 3 3543
2020-09-05 0 0 0 918
2020-09-06 0 0 0 432
2020-09-07 0 0 0 615
2020-09-08 8 0 0 393
2020-09-09 25 0 0 189
2020-09-10 46 0 0 444
2020-09-11 16 0 0 963
2020-09-12 0 0 0 1,154
2020-09-13 0 0 0 969
2020-09-14 18 0 0 861
2020-09-15 28 0 0 870
2020-09-16 22 0 0 1,020
2020-09-17 33 0 0 1,008
2020-09-18 0 0 0 1,392
2020-09-19 0 0 0 399
2020-09-20 0 0 0 480
2020-09-21 11 0 0 285
2020-09-22 4 0 0 588
2020-09-23 31 0 0 570
2020-09-24 30 0 0 270
2020-09-25 0 0 0 513
2020-09-26 0 0 0 417
2020-09-27 0 0 0 390
2020-09-28 26 0 0 189
2020-09-29 24 0 0 600
2020-09-30 21 0 0 486
2020-10-01 0 0 0 960
2020-10-02 0 0 0 657
2020-10-03 0 0 0 561
2020-10-04 0 0 0 1,113
2020-10-05 30 0 0 690
2020-10-06 20 0 0 987
2020-10-07 15 0 0 1,320
2020-10-08 0 0 0 1.053
2020-10-09 0 0 0 606
2020-10-10 0 0 0 306
2020-10-11 0 0 0 105
2020-10-12 0 0 0 27
2020-10-13 0 0 0 3
2020-10-14 0 0 0 51
2020-10-15 0 0 0 3
2020-10-16 0 0 0 42
2020-10-17 0 0 0 15
2020-10-18 0 0 0 45
2020-10-19 4 0 0 30
2020-10-20 10 0 0 21
2020-10-21 13 0 0 18
2020-10-22 0 0 0 6
2020-10-23 0 0 0 0
Total 1,006 1,527 8,273 161,425
Emergency enhancement

Emergency enhancement

During the 2020 Fraser salmon migration season, fish selected for the Big Bar Emergency Conservation Enhancement Program were genetically tested to identify the stock or origin of each salmon. Following the results, they were transported to one of a number of hatcheries supporting the Big Bar program. The table below indicates the number of chinook and sockeye that were initially selected to support the recovery of impacted populations. As a result of these efforts, 125,000 Early Stuart sockeye, 10,000 Bowron sockeye and 68,000 chinook embryos are currently being reared at the hatcheries with their eventual release planned for summer 2021.

Date Weekly total Chinook Sockeye
August 8 to 14, 2020 34 34 0
August 1 to 7, 2020 330 23 307
July 25 to 31, 2020 145 38 107
July 18 to 24, 2020 21 21 0
July 11 to 17, 2020 0 0 0
July 4 to 10, 2020 0 0 0
June 27 to July 3, 2020 2 2 0
Total 532 118 414