'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
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.