'No small feat': B.C. fishing guides rescue monster sturgeon stranded in flood-stricken Fraser Valley
A pair of fishing guides are being credited for their work saving an endangered sturgeon trapped by the catastrophic floodwaters in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.
Sarah Schreier, the executive director of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, says professional fishing guides Tyler Buck and Jay Gibson have been helping out on the frontlines of the natural disaster.
Buck and Gibson, who are both members of the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association, shifted their focus to conserving fish stocks and cleaning up riverbeds when the atmospheric river brought heavy floods to the area.
“They’ve been doing a great job and even took a moment to help a really large sturgeon along the way and help sturgeon conservation as well,” Schreier tells CTV News Vancouver. “It’s pretty amazing.”
When the storm hit, the large sturgeon became trapped in a side channel near Herrling Island, which is just outside of Agassiz.
When the guides discovered the fish, it was stuck in only about 20 centimetres of water.
“It could easily be a few hundred pounds and they carried it in a sling for two kilometres to return it to the main part of the Fraser River,” Schreier says. “So this was no small feat to do this.”
Schreier adds that this particular sturgeon had been tagged by the conservation society in 2008 and they have now decided to name it “Lucky.”
“This fish has another chance thanks to the guys helping it out,” she says. “It’s probably in its 20s or 30s…These are the fish that give us hope for the future. So it means a lot that they did this.”
According to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, sturgeons are hardwired to survive. But it’s unlikely that this fish would have survived had mankind not intervened.
“What really impacts them is the food supply. So with an event like this, the impact to the habitat they use, where their food grows…so impact to survival would be potentially pretty significant just because of the impact of the habitats that they’re accustomed to finding their food,” Schreier says.
The conservation society has now adopted the sturgeon on behalf of Buck and Gibson, and their names will now be associated with the fish and its tagging information in their database.
“Hopefully the fish continues to be seen and encountered by our volunteers for years to come,” Schreier says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL has suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.