Creekwalking in Heiltsuk Territory

Reynolds Lab Manager Arianne Nickels taking down the team’s numbers for a section of stream. Photo by Auston Chhor.

A chum salmon likely predated by a bear.

Raincoast Quantitative Ecologist Allison Dennert pointing out a fish to Arianne.

Arianne counting fish in challenging high water conditions.

A female chum salmon illuminated by a rare sunny break.

The large front teeth of a spawning male chum salmon. Chum salmon are sometimes known as “dog salmon” for this reason.

A male chum salmon lurking in the estuary of a stream. Chum salmon are mostly chrome in their ocean phase, and undergo rapid morphological changes upon entering freshwater to spawn. The wine-coloured vertical striping of a chum salmon is unique to the species and is a reliable identifier.

A meadow of Douglas Aster in the estuary of a stream deep in Roscoe Inlet.

A fresh dead chum salmon.

Reynolds Lab technician Brogan Neufeld making his way back to the team through the Douglas Aster.

A male chum salmon nearing the end of its life.

A large chum salmon likely predated by a bear then scavenged by birds in the estuary of a stream.

A chum salmon missing most of its scales swims away from the counters.

A chum salmon near the end of its life.

A group of coho salmon behind a logjam. Coho are darker coloured, swim further upstream, and spawn later in the year compared to chum and pink salmon.

A pair of chum salmon.

Brogan making his way up a small waterfall, a fish barrier marking the end of the survey.

The view from the backseat of Keta, our aluminum research vessel. All 27 streams that we survey can only be accessed by boat.