Despite the repeated weather forecasts for rain this past Friday, it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny and warm day. Paulette headed down to Victoria just after 9:00 to do some shopping and to meet her quilting friend, Claire, for lunch and more shopping – quilt stores I guess.
It was just too nice a day to be inside, so after spending a couple of hours on the computer and reading for a bit, I packed Molly and Rylie in the truck and we headed down the highway towards Victoria to see how the salmon run at Goldstream was progressing. Friday was perfect because while there were still quite a few visitors, it would be nothing like the weekend when the park would be packed with people.
The first thing I noticed when we walked down to the river was the big difference in the number of spent salmon carcasses lining the banks compared to just two weeks ago. Then, there were perhaps a few dozen, Friday they numbered in the hundreds. These salmon will become food for the eagles, gulls and other animals in the park or they will eventually just feed nutrients into the eco-system.
Goldstream, like every river, is absolutely unique. Young salmon fry are able to detect extremely minute traces of elements present in their home stream. Odours from the gravel, rocks, plants and other organisms, all have a lasting influence on the young salmon. At a very early stage, salmon identify with the odour of their home stream. They retain this sense of ‘having-been-there-before’ so that after years in the ocean most salmon will be able to navigate successfully back to the stream of their origin.
Coho salmon, one species, hatch in freshwater as do all salmon. They remain in freshwater for about a year before migrating to the river estuary and finally to the open ocean. After spending 2 to 3 years in the Pacific ocean, avoiding all kinds of predators including killer whales, seals, sea lions and the most dangerous of all, man, they return as adults to freshwater to spawn and then die.
The ability of most salmon to navigate accurately from the ocean to a particular spawning ground is absolutely incredible. The exact methods used by adult salmon to migrate from the ocean to the rivers where they were hatched are not well understood. It is known that it's not a random occurrence. It is also known that the event is well timed and well directed.
It is apparent that once migrating salmon reach the coast they congregate in the shallow waters near the mouth of their river of origin. Distinctive home stream odours assume great importance. Studies show that the sense of smell is the most significant factor in homing. Visual cues are of secondary importance.
No matter how many times I visit Goldstream during the annual salmon run, it is always extremely impressive and at the same time sad too. To see these wonderful fish just lying on the banks of the river is disheartening, but that is nature I guess and it’s been going on that way for thousands of years. It’s the way it’s meant to be and the bigger worry, I suppose, would be that we humans do something to cause it to end.
Have a great Monday, and thanks again for visiting!
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