Forage Fish
feed the marine food chain
What are Forage Fish?
Forage fish are small schooling fish such as herring, surf smelt, oolichan and Pacific sandlance which form the base of the marine food web. We have recently found that some of these fish, surf smelt and Pacific sandlance, spawn directly on our beaches. Our work is to learn more about these beach spawners and the beaches they spawn on. To do this we, along with a host of citizen science volunteers, collect sediment samples from beaches and look for the tiny eggs under microscopes.
Forage Fish News
Forage Fish Map
Project Watershed has been surveying beaches for the presence of forage fish and forage fish eggs. The location of the beaches we surveyed last season are shown below. You can hover over each location to see if eggs were found.
Forage Fish Spring Forum April 26
Announcing the 2023 Virtual BC Forage Fish Monitoring Network Spring Forum! This event is an opportunity for all those interested in the conservation of forage fish in British Columbia to come together and learn about the latest research and updates.
Forage Fish Surveying Summary
Wow 40 plus amazing, citizen scientists supported the forage fish project this season. They covered almost 30 beaches between Hornby Island, the Comox Valley, Campbell River, and Cortes Island.
Pacific Sand Lance Habitat Suitability Model in the Canadian Salish Sea
A new paper and model assessing intertidal beach habitat for Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) in the Salish Sea has just been released!
Volunteer
If you want to help us find forage fish eggs on beaches around the Comox Valley then this course is for you. Searching for forage fish eggs involves beach surveys and microscope work. You can sign up for both or focus on one of the two aspects.
Beach surveys: we will show you how to assess the habitat at a beach, layout your transect, collect samples and preserve them. We will be sampling core beaches every 10 days in spawning season until eggs are detected. Once eggs are detected at our core beaches, we will begin blitz surveys. Blitz surveys involve sampling as many suitable beaches as possible to help us identify additional spawning habitat in our area.
Microscope work: we will show you how to idenify eggs under the microscope.
Local Ecological Knowledge
If you have any information to share please fill out the Local Ecological Knowledge Questionnaire. You can also:
- Send photos of beaches where you have seen forage fish in the past
- Share local knowledge over casual conversation and send us your stories
- Virginia.East@projectwatershed.ca
- 250-703-2871
Thank you for sharing your knowledge on forage fish and contributing to our ongoing collection!
Funders & Partners
This work is funded by the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund and with support from the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Comox Valley Regional District. Local partners in this initiative include K’ómoks First Nation and North Island College.
