Fieldwork Friday
It's #FieldWorkFriday
Last Friday, we continued to catch salmon and a few three-spined sticklebacks during our juvenile salmon survey at Irvines Landing! Monday, we moved to Gerrans Bay, where the numbers of juvenile salmon increased as well. Gerrans Bay is unique since we tend to catch a lot more larval fish here. We have learned that some of the larval fish are sculpins, gunnels, pricklebacks, and herring. You can follow us on iNaturalist to see some of the interesting creatures we find. Thanks to everyone who came out to help – it really makes a difference when we have hundreds of fish to count. Surveys at Irvines Landing will continue today.
It is the start of the European Green Crab (EGC) season. We will start placing baited crab traps at locations around the harbour to catch this invasive crab. The EGC is a voracious predator that impacts bivalves and seagrass meadows. Seagrass meadows are nursery habitats for many species, including juvenile salmon. EGC are identified by the five spines on each side of their carapace. If you think you have found one, please report it! A huge thank you to our volunteers for helping kick off the season.
If you're interested in volunteering with the Coastal Waters Monitoring Program, please contact Jenn at Jenn@loonfoundation.org. Our upcoming monitoring schedule is available until the end of April.
#Smolts #InvasiveSpecies #EGC #SunshineCoastBC #Volunteers
