On Saturday morning, five dead sturgeon were found grouped together along the Haney neighbourhood section of the Fraser River.
Local resident Sandy Atkin spotted the collection of deceased fish when he was walking his dog along the river at approximately 10:30 am.
“I expect to see a couple of things washed up along that area, but it seemed strange that there was five of them,” said Atkin.
He described the sturgeons as being quite big and mentioned that he also found another one washed up in the same area three weeks ago.
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“No pieces seemed to be cut out or missing,” said Atkin. “But there was a whole flock of vultures eating the insides of them.”
Atkin noted that three of the fish were within five feet of eachother, while the remaining two were less than 20 feet away.
Leri Davies, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) strategic media relations advisor, shared that officials have already taken action to investigate this issue.
“Fishery officers from the Langley detachment examined the dead sturgeon discovered near Haney and scanned for carcass tags, which were not present, and sampled the fish, as well as others that had been found,” she said. “This information was passed on to the Provincial authorities.”
Davies also expressed the DFO’s gratification towards Atkin for bringing light to this issue.
“DFO would like to thank the individual who reported this incident, and the Department asks the public for information on any suspicious or potentially illegal activities, or any contravention of the Fisheries Act and Regulations.”
To report information or issues, the DFO can be contacted at 1-800-465-4336 or by emailing DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
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