Forage Fish Sampling Results 2020/2021

Project Watershed is excited to announce the results of our November 2020 to February 2021 forage fish beach habitat sampling surveys.

After expert verification we can confirm that the following sites are Pacific sand lance (PSL) positive: Goose Spit Sites 2 and 3, Air Force Beach, Kye Bay, Smelt Bay, Shingle Spit, and Mansons Landing. Eggs were found at Rebecca Spit and Frank James Park. However, we could not determine which species they were from. We hope that environmental (eDNA) will aid in learning more about these sites. There was no confirmed detection of surf smelt during the winter spawning season.

 eDNA has been an important element of sampling and mapping forage fish spawning habitat. eDNA from the last year and a half is currently being processed and analyzed. The samples will aid in planning future sampling methods, mapping and validating Pacific sand lance and surf smelt spawning habitats in both intertidal and subtidal environments. We will share more details as we receive them.