10 Nov Shore Spawning Kokanee Habitat Restoration Project Update: Egg Capsule Installations Complete
November 6th 2020: Successfully installed egg capsules at restoration site.
Egg capsules have been buried along the shoreline at the Shorespawning Kokanee restoration site at McDonalds Landing Regional Park, marking a major milestone as the Shore Spawning Kokanee Habitat Restoration Project officially wraps up for the winter months.
Egg capsules are perforated plastic containers in which fish eggs are placed to allow for the observation of egg development. On November 6th, 2020, FOKLSS filled ten egg capsules with kokanee eggs and buried them at varying elevations at the recently restored shore spawning site.
First, 100 eggs were counted and weighed. Once we knew the weight of 100 kokanee eggs, we were able to determine the approximate number of eggs placed in each capsule based on each capsule’s weight. Temperature data loggers were then placed inside each capsule – these loggers will track water temperature within each capsule over time. Capsules were then capped, labelled, flagged and brought to the water’s edge for installation.
With the help of an amazing team of volunteers, including two volunteer divers, the egg tubes were buried along the shoreline at varying depths. Five egg tubes were placed above the low water mark within the old substrate (mostly sand), and five were placed within the newly installed gravel below the low water mark. The time of installation and the GPS coordinates of each capsule were recorded. Painted metal piping was placed on the surface of the substrate to mark each capsule location.
The egg capsules will sit beneath the substrate over the duration of the winter while the eggs develop into fry. Egg capsules typically allow fry to escape upon hatching. The egg capsules installed at McDonalds Landing have been modified to disallow fry escape. This is because the eggs within the capsules are a cultivated stream-spawning kokanee species non-native to this specific area. Capsules will be retrieved in the spring where we will assess egg to fry survival within each capsule.
The results of the spring assessment will provide insight into how spawning substrate, water depth and groundwater infiltration influence egg development and fry survival of shore spawning kokanee salmon.
We could not have completed this work without the support of our amazing volunteers. Special thank you to:
Gary Munro
James Baxter
Joanne Siderius
Molly Teather
Ico De Zwart
Jay Blackmore
Bruce Morrison
Jeff Burrows
Serina Swanson
Natasha Neumann
And our funders, Fortis BC, Columbia Basin Trust, Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, Regional District of Central Kootenay and Public Conservation Assistance Fund.
We appreciate all of your support!
If you would like to know more, contact us at info@friendsofkootenaylake.ca
You can periodically check-in on our social media for project updates and more exciting news from FOKL!
