The Alouette River Management Society is celebrating its first sockeye return of the year, at the same time as it recruits volunteers to help protect that fish and other species.
Over the weekend the conservation group reports it "happily found two sockeye in the trap," in the Alouette River, at Allco Park.
Both these fish were measured, scale samples were taken, and then they were transported by vehicle up to the lake to be released. Until there is a fish ladder or other passage for returning salmon, this is the method ARMS uses to get the fish past the dam and into Alouette Lake.
ARMS said the fish looked healthy, and it is hoped they are the first of many returning.
At the same time, the group is recruiting volunteers to help paint bright yellow fish on the storm drains on the streets of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The painted fish remind people that all storm drains lead to fish habitat. This month, ARMS will host two painting sessions:
• Tuesday, July 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows.
• Wednesday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Wesview Park in Maple Ridge.
Volunteers are asked to please sign up through an online link.
