Until recently, very little dedicated information has been collected on Coastal Cutthroat Trout (CCT) in our region’s small streams. Most of what we know has come from programs focused on other species, like Coho Salmon. But CCT deserve our attention. These trout rely heavily on healthy streams throughout every stage of their lives — whether they live entirely in freshwater or migrate between rivers, lakes, and the ocean.

They also have very specific habitat needs: young-of-the-year trout prefer calm side channels, while juveniles thrive in shallow riffles and pools with plenty of wood for shelter. Unfortunately, these sensitive habitats are increasingly at risk. Urban development, forestry, and climate change are causing more erosion, more sediment in streams, and more frequent droughts —leading to reduced water flow and the drying out of critical habitats.

To protect CCT and support local ecosystems, we need focused, long-term monitoring. This helps us understand where these fish are thriving and where they need help, so we can take action to ensure they’re around for generations to come

Community partners include: Island Waters Flyfishers, Departure Creek Streamkeepers, Walley Creek Streamkeepers, Friends of Cottle Creek, and the City of Nanaimo. Thank you to the following project advisors:

Dave Clough from D.R. Clough Consulting,
Kevin Brydges from the City of Nanaimo,
The West Coast fisheries biologist and ecologist team (B.Anderson, S. Silvestri, M.McCulloch and J. Szczot) with BC Ministry of Forests,
Sue Pollard & Ron Ptolemy from Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC

To use the dashboard –

• Select a stream or streams from the top right corner. Selecting a stream or streams will provide information on the survey effort table. To find the fish information, click on a survey from the survey effort table.
• You can expand any of the tables or graphs in the dashboard by clicking on the small expand  view button (X) that will appear on the top right corner of each table. Clicking on the expand view button (X) again will return to dashboard view.

For more information, please email the Stewardship Manager