A volunteer who helps take care of a Burnaby creek is reporting a fish kill days after a big fish release.
Paul Cipywnyk reported the event on his blog about Byrne Creek.
“I got a call from City of Burnaby staff today that people were reporting dead fish in Byrne Creek,” Cipywnyk wrote. “Sure enough, yet another first-flush road-wash coho kill.”
Volunteers released 3,700 coho smolts last Thursday, he said.
“It rained Monday, and the creek was running awfully dirty,” he wrote. “This has been happening for many years on Byrne Creek. We pray for no rain following a coho smolt release because if road wash enters the creek while the coho are still in the system, they die by the hundreds … I met a City staffer for a walkabout. I counted four or five dozen dead smolts between the sediment pond and the downstream side of Byrne Bridge. There were several happy herons about, and with this kill likely occurring Monday/Tuesday, probably dozens if not hundreds of dead smolts had been scarfed already. Mother Nature’s cleanup crew is fast and efficient.”
