B.C. heat wave causing concern for fish as waterway temperatures rise
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Friday, July 10, 2015 10:08 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, July 10, 2015 10:32 AM EDT
KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- The heat wave across British Columbia has pushed temperatures in some waterways to 19 degrees, just one degree below the point where the Department of Fisheries and Oceans predicts there could be damaging effects on fish.
Area resources director Stu Cartwright says important salmon-bearing rivers such as the Fraser, Thompson and Nicola are all affected.
He says juvenile salmon along the Thompson and Fraser systems sometimes spend more than a year in those waters and will be stressed, as will adult fish that begin arriving soon to spawn.
Cartwright says juvenile salmon in the Nicola River are also at risk.
He says serious problems begin when river water reaches 20 degrees or higher.
Warmer waters carry less oxygen, but fish need more oxygen as waters heat up, harming or killing salmon stocks if rivers get too hot.
A sockeye salmon swims in shallow water in the Adams River while preparing to spawn near Chase, British Columbia in this October 11, 2006 file photo. With temperatures continuing to rise in B.C., the Department of Fisheries and Oceans predicts there could be damaging effects on fish in the province. REUTERS/Andy Clark/Files
B.C. heat wave causing concern for fish as waterway temperatures rise | Canada |
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Friday, July 10, 2015 10:08 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, July 10, 2015 10:32 AM EDT
KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- The heat wave across British Columbia has pushed temperatures in some waterways to 19 degrees, just one degree below the point where the Department of Fisheries and Oceans predicts there could be damaging effects on fish.
Area resources director Stu Cartwright says important salmon-bearing rivers such as the Fraser, Thompson and Nicola are all affected.
He says juvenile salmon along the Thompson and Fraser systems sometimes spend more than a year in those waters and will be stressed, as will adult fish that begin arriving soon to spawn.
Cartwright says juvenile salmon in the Nicola River are also at risk.
He says serious problems begin when river water reaches 20 degrees or higher.
Warmer waters carry less oxygen, but fish need more oxygen as waters heat up, harming or killing salmon stocks if rivers get too hot.
A sockeye salmon swims in shallow water in the Adams River while preparing to spawn near Chase, British Columbia in this October 11, 2006 file photo. With temperatures continuing to rise in B.C., the Department of Fisheries and Oceans predicts there could be damaging effects on fish in the province. REUTERS/Andy Clark/Files
B.C. heat wave causing concern for fish as waterway temperatures rise | Canada |
