Forage Fish – The Foundation of Our Marine Food Web - Brant Wildlife Festival

In Our Waters: Part II by Ross Peterson Forage fish are the foundation of our marine food web. With Pacific sand lance, surf smelt and Pacific herring, these little fish support many of the more obvious icons that we associate with our coast, such as rock fish, salmon, seals and Orcas. Forage fish create the richness of species needed to keep our Salish Sea healthy. Surf smelt spawn in the sand and gravel beaches that many of us walk along every day, and yet few of us have seen these fish. These secretive species spawn at night, when we can’t see them, and they leave no visible evidence that they have even been there. With their hidden lives, finding the exact beaches where these forage fish live takes a lot of work. Volunteer organizations, such as the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society and Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers, conduct surveys of the beaches in winter months when the fish spawn. They take measurements and remove sand and gravel samples for microscopic examination to find the tiny eggs from spawning. This work is showing that most beaches in this area are likely used by sand lance and surf smelt. But this puts […]

Forage Fish – The Foundation of Our Marine Food Web - Brant

Forage Fish – The Foundation of Our Marine Food Web - Brant

Forage Fish – The Foundation of Our Marine Food Web - Brant

Forage Fish – The Foundation of Our Marine Food Web - Brant