This module describes how to count spawning salmonids on a stream. Survey teams walk the length of the stream, using the same procedure Fisheries Officers use to count spawners. This process is repeated a few times during the spawning season and total spawning populations are estimated from the counts. A key is provided to help you identify fish species.
Spawner surveys provide information about the status of breeding populations. These fish must survive various fisheries, as well as environmental hazards, to return to their spawning grounds. Monitoring the abundance of spwaning populations is essential to amintaining future generations of fish.