Where Did the Salmon in Bowker Creek Go?

Bowker creek runs from south Oak Bay, to Uptown, Saanich, and back. Bowker Creek is approximately 2500 years old and originally home to lots of Salmon, but sadly not anymore. Above you will see a map. The thinner blue line is Bowker Creek, the thick blue line is its Watershed boundaries.

Over the years we have altered the Salmon's natural habitat. It is no longer a natural creek. We have manipulated every twist and turn of the creek and now it is not a natural or sustainable environment for Salmon. In south Oak Bay, we have essentially created a big drainage ditch with the giant cement wall lining the creek.

This is a small paper I wrote explaining what requirements a creek or freshwater stream must meet to create a sustainable habitat. I also further explain what all the requirements are and how they help the creek and it's inhabitants! 

The categories in the photo are the essential conditions and molecular substances needed in a thriving aquatic environment. To the right of them are the levels and amounts of these substances Bowker Creek has. (ppm = parts per million)

There were two main types of Salmon that inhabited Bowker Creek; The Chum Salmon and the Coho Salmon. Above you will see a photo I created showing you the two different types of Salmon, male and female.

Above you will see the tolerance levels of the Coho Salmon compared to Bowker Creek's levels.  The levels above are the maximum amount of levels that a Coho Salmon can tolerate.

Above is a chart comparing the tolerance and necessary amount of different molecular substances found in the creek. This table is able to tell us that the water quality of Bowker Creek is not yet able to sustain Chum Salmon. 

I calculated the statistics between both the salmon types and determined a shared level of tolerance/necessity of each category. Above is the information displayed in a chart I created. 

The Chum and Coho Salmon have a very similar diet. They both feed on aquatic insects and plankton, however, the Chum Salmon specifically feeds on zooplankton rather than Chum Salmon that eats all and any plankton available.

A majority of Bowker Creek is underground, this could alter the possibility of sustaining plankton or zooplankton in the creek as they use photosynthesis to create food and would need to live in open areas of the creek where sunlight is available. As for aquatic insects, Bowker Creek is riddled with them! Aquatic insects would not be an issue here!

My peers have created a playlist going into further detail on how to get the salmon back! I highly recommend you check it out!

If and when the Coho Salmon return, we hope that the millions eggs they lay will not be harmed so the Salmon community can thrive once more in Bowker Creek.

Here is a video of Chum Salmon spawning! A hopeful result we can achieve in Bowker Creek!

Currently, a restoration process is taking place in Bowker Creek. The goal is to bring back the naturality of it, and hopefully bring back some species that once roamed those waters. Here is a video explaining the restoration!