From classroom to creek: saving Nanaimo’s cutthroat trout

Joe Clark is working with the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT) to monitor urban streams in Nanaimo for the presence of cutthroat trout.

The project started when streamkeepers noticed cutthroat trout had disappeared from Walley Creek. This discovery sparked efforts by NALT and partners to monitor trout in several urban streams. NALT is partnering with streamkeepers, the City of Nanaimo and the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Grant funding is from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.

“We have these streams where we know there have historically been cutthroat trout and we want to investigate whether they are still there. So that is the first step. We’re investigating their presence or absence,” says Joe, a Fisheries and Aquaculture student at VIU. 

He says the cutthroat trout is a native species and widespread in these small streams. They are an indicator species of water quality and habitat condition because they are sensitive to water issues changes in water conditions.

“They’re sensitive to disturbances and populations could be gone overnight if there are the right conditions. That was a big part of the importance of this project, knowing that they have a lot of threats facing them and trying to gather some data before it is too late,” says Joe, adding that at many of these urban streams there is development right up to the banks and road water runoff is entering them.

One of the issues is there is a large gap in data, says Joe. He says most research is focused on one or multiple of the five Pacific salmon species (coho, chum, chinook, sockeye and pink). Data on trout species (including cutthroat trout) is often collected incidentally when researching salmon, because they share habitat and certain life-history traits. 

Joe Clark

“We are trying to get ahead on these other systems and have a better understanding of where the fish are and when, and then we can hopefully have some better answers if things change over time,” says Joe. 

Joe says once they build the database and determine whether the fish are present or absent, they can start looking at bigger questions such as investigating habitat enhancement.

Joe joined the project through connections he made while earning his Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology diploma at VIU. The diploma program has a work practicum and he connected with NALT for that placement. He’s kept in touch with NALT and has done some volunteer and contract work for them over the past year. He is completing the project as part of an upper-level Aquaculture course for his senior work experience.

"Joe’s participation in the project, especially at this early stage where we are setting up our monitoring sites, streamlining our methodology, training volunteers and checking that first round of data for quality issues, has been instrumental in the project’s success,” says Linda Brooymans, Stewardship Manager of Nanaimo & Area Land Trust. “He has the background knowledge to help in a constructive way in both project development and implementation. NALT is very much impressed with the calibre of students and young professionals that VIU’s fisheries program produces.”

Joe graduated from the diploma program in 2023 and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with a double minor in Biology and Aquaculture at VIU. He can use his credits from the diploma program toward his BA.

Joe credits taking the Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology diploma with building his confidence and helping him form the connections to do this work.

“The Fisheries and Aquaculture diploma was excellent in terms of giving me the hands-on skills I needed to understand fish habitat, fish behaviour and ecology. There is a large field component to the program, which was great because we got to get out and look at fish habitat and evaluate urban streams,” says Joe. “The faculty in fisheries and aquaculture instilled a lot of confidence in me. I feel like I left with the skills to do this kind of work. I couldn’t just pick one professor over another, they were always very encouraging and helpful. They did a good job preparing me for this kind of work.”

Joe says taking the diploma program gave him the confidence to take on these bigger kinds of projects with multiple stakeholders and government agencies involved. When he graduates, Joe wants to work in applied biology either in consulting biology or on the regulatory side. 

“I find this stewardship work to be extremely rewarding and stimulating, so whatever work I end up doing, I will probably do this as a hobby. I can’t imagine I would ever give up this stewardship work, whether that is as a volunteer or whatever,” he says.

Although there are lots of different pressures on students’ time, Joe recommends getting involved in community groups as it is a good way to get a lot of different perspectives.

“I know that it can seem overwhelming. There’s a lot of demands on students’ time already and I get that. I’ve had a full-time course load and a part-time job, but I think building that connection, especially when you are a student with a community group, is such a good way to get involved,” he says. 

*Main blog photo courtesy of Nanaimo & Area Land Trust