'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
A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests
Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
No, a best-selling American writing duo didn't pen a Galen Weston romance novel
You would be forgiven for thinking Christina Lauren's latest romance novel stars a hunky reimagining of Loblaw chairman Galen G. Weston.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Sunchips, Munchies recalled by Frito Lay Canada for possible salmonella contamination
Frito Lay Canada is recalling two of its most popular snacks due to a possible risk of salmonella contamination.
Ellen DeGeneres addresses the 'hurtful' end of her talk show in new stand-up set
Ellen DeGeneres is reflecting on how her talk show came to an end in her newest Netflix special, 'Ellen's Last Stand ... Up Tour.'
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.