Anglers and researchers delve into fish guts to save B.C. salmon
Micah Quindazzi has spent a good chunk of his science career elbows deep in pungent fish guts.
Squeezing out stomachs and poking through intestines seems like distasteful and ignoble work, but it's part of a wider collaborative effort by researchers and recreational fishermen to save endangered salmon and divine changes to the marine food web as climate change advances.
Fisheries ecology and conservation researchers at the University of Victoria have recruited anglers as citizen scientists since 2017 to help determine what chinook and coho salmon are eating, Quindazzi said.
In turn, that data will help determine how the ocean ecosystem is shifting as water warms over coming decades and how best to preserve salmon - a keystone species on the West Coast - and the resources they depend on.
More than 150 fishermen and a number of fishing lodges have collected and dropped off the digestive tracts of more than 2,000 fish for the Adult Salmon Diet Program to date, Quindazzi said.
Often tossed overboard as gunky waste or used as crab bait, fish guts can yield a wealth of information around an individual salmon species, regional and seasonal facets of the food web and the changing state of ocean ecosystems over time.
“I personally went through around 600 of those stomachs myself, and it's not the most glorious process on the surface of it,” Quindazzi said.
“But once you actually look at what's going on in the stomach, I can see the information laid out in front of me.”
Analysis of the chinook and coho stomachs reveal three forage fish are the foundation of their diet: Pacific herring, northern anchovy and the Pacific sand lance, commonly known as needlefish.
Herring - historically abundant in B.C. waters but now under stress from changing ocean conditions - are far and away the most important prey for chinook and coho, the study has found.
But some interesting seasonal and regional variations have surfaced, Quindazzi said.
Northern anchovy, recently returned to the Strait of Georgia after a long absence, have become important summer food for the salmon in southern waters around Howe Sound, the Lower Mainland and the lower Sunshine Coast. Yet the little fish are appear totally absent in diets elsewhere.
Spawning anchovy benefit from warmer waters, and B.C. is the northern end of its geographic reach. But as waters continue to warm in the Salish Sea, the fish may become more abundant and lead to a shift in the food web.
Meanwhile, sand lance form a big part of spring and early summer diets in Haro Strait, Juan de Fuca around southern Vancouver Island and around the north coast around Haida Gwaii, but they are scarce in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland.
It's astounding how many sand lance a salmon can stomach, Quindazzi said, adding the record so far is almost 450 needlefish found in a chinook caught in north of Haida Gwaii in 2019.
More than 450 Pacific sand lance were found in a single Chinook stomach
Another surprise is the diet study indicates that rather than migrating away after spawning in the spring as previously assumed, many adult herring stay resident in the Salish Sea, providing key food for salmon in the spring and fall.
So further study about why and where the resident herring remain can help manage fisheries and this important food source for salmon, Quindazzi said.
Recreational fishermen are ideal citizen scientists for a long-term diet monitoring program, Quindazzi said.
They are often curious about the diets of fish, and knowing what salmon are chasing also helps them select the best lures, he said.
Plus the large number of recreational fishers who spend a lot of time on the water in a wide range of places can gather stomach samples far better than a small research team could, Quindazzi said.
Participating anglers remove, bag and freeze the digestive tract of their catch, recording some key details on an accompanying card and dropping them off at regional depots for pickup.
The program is always on the hunt for more sports fishers to participate, especially during the winter months when fewer people are out on the water, Quindazzi said.
But a reciprocal relationship between the fishers and researchers is a key goal of the project, he said, adding recreational fishermen aren't privy for the most part to the science that government uses to make management decisions about the fishery.
“By conducting this citizen science project, we provide (fishermen) not only a means to see the data but to have meaningful input in how the project operates,” he said.
Jeremy Maynard, a certified fishing guide who resides in Campbell River, provides salmon stomachs whenever he can.
In terms of conservation, there's a huge data gap around what happens when salmon leave the rivers and head out to the ocean, he said.
And Fisheries and Oceans Canada enacts restrictions on the recreational fishery regardless, said Maynard, also a member of the federal government's sport fishing advisory board.
“I've been in so many meetings where the discussion (on fisheries management) is compromised because you don't have data,” he said.
The salmon diet study, and other programs like the avid angler program, provide critical catch and genetic stock information as well as holistic data on the health of forage fish populations and marine ecosystem health, he added.
But aside from conservation and management of the fishery, Maynard - who has been plying the waters since the '70s - is just fascinated by salmon and what he can learn about them.
“I guess the bottom line is I'm just curious about all things fish.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Pro-Palestinian protests roiling U.S. colleges escalate with arrests, new encampments and closures
The student protests of Israel's war with Hamas that have been creating friction at U.S. universities escalated Tuesday as new encampments sprouted and some colleges encouraged students to stay home and learn online, after dozens of arrests across the country.
Tabloid publisher says he pledged to be Trump campaign's 'eyes and ears' during 2016 race
A veteran tabloid publisher testified Tuesday that he pledged to be Donald Trump 's 'eyes and ears' during his 2016 presidential campaign, recounting how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress stories that had the potential to harm the Republican's election bid.