Project Logs 2012 - 2013
Spring - Fall
A large number or dives this year along the eastern shoreline. During the summer, along with the Fraser Valley Scuba Club, we conducted regular Wednesday night dives with participants as far away as Surrey and Vancouver attending. As a result, more divers are becoming aware of the Pygmy Sculpin and Cultus Lake issues in general.
Many dives at the Old Marina site to the north of Entrance Bay to determine the variety and extent of debris there.
Nov 10th. Jade Bay - Spring Bay. 1km traverse of the shoreline between Jade Bay and Spring Bay to determine the topography. Observed salmon (Chum?) spawning directly south of the Jade Bay boat launch at aprox. 40'. Large rock rubble from road building forms most of this section with roughly a 45 degree slope. Spied an old rowing skiff partially buried at 36'. The slope levels off to a shallow pitch in the sub-littoral Spring Bay area with occasional rock, logs or bottles for habitat. Video of the dive can be found here:
Jade Bay - Spring Bay Traverse Video:
Spring - Fall
A large number or dives this year along the eastern shoreline. During the summer, along with the Fraser Valley Scuba Club, we conducted regular Wednesday night dives with participants as far away as Surrey and Vancouver attending. As a result, more divers are becoming aware of the Pygmy Sculpin and Cultus Lake issues in general.
Many dives at the Old Marina site to the north of Entrance Bay to determine the variety and extent of debris there.
Nov 10th. Jade Bay - Spring Bay. 1km traverse of the shoreline between Jade Bay and Spring Bay to determine the topography. Observed salmon (Chum?) spawning directly south of the Jade Bay boat launch at aprox. 40'. Large rock rubble from road building forms most of this section with roughly a 45 degree slope. Spied an old rowing skiff partially buried at 36'. The slope levels off to a shallow pitch in the sub-littoral Spring Bay area with occasional rock, logs or bottles for habitat. Video of the dive can be found here:
Jade Bay - Spring Bay Traverse Video:
Nov 24th. Jade Bay. Returned to Jade Bay to see if there were any more Chum Salmon spawning and to try and capture video of the Pygmy Sculpin. Saw only dead salmon, several Pygmy Sculpins in the open or against rocks, a few crayfish and two Stickle Backs resting on the bottom. Came across an area where the slope has slumped like a small underwater landslide and followed the rubble field up. Milfoil in the littoral zone is pinching off near the apex and putting out rootlets. Soon these will detach and spread to create new plants.
After the dive I also attended the Cultus Pygmy Sculpin Draft Action Plan open house hosted by DFO and CLASS at Cultus Lake and met with researchers, biologists and members of the local stewardship community.
Dec 16th. Spring Bay. Dove this area today to video record the littoral and sub littoral zones for future illustration purposes and to look for Pygmy Sculpin. Water temp. 7C. Visibility was fair but decreasing below 40' depth.
Unlike most of the eastern shoreline (where there is a relatively narrow littoral zone), Spring Bay has an extensive photic region due to its gradual shallow slope. In the summer months, vertical flora forests of Milfoil and Elodea create a large aquatic "nursery" for schooling fish to hide in. In the winter, the (primarily Milfoil) forest dies off and collapses down to the substrate where it is decomposed by dentrivores and fungi/bacteria. At approximately 20-25 feet the littoral zone ends abruptly in a clearly delineated line and the sub-littoral zone begins.
Within the littoral zone the substrate is a mixture of cobble and gravel mixed with wood material. The sub-littoral zone turns to finer gravel overlain with a deepening layer of non solidified detritus (silt) intermittently punctuated by larger rocks, logs and the occasional man made debris.
Observed Milfoil beginning to "lay down" and die off, some cyanobacteria developing, and in the sub-littoral zone many examples of white fresh water encrusting sponges. No fish of any kind observed (odd).
Spring Bay Video:
After the dive I also attended the Cultus Pygmy Sculpin Draft Action Plan open house hosted by DFO and CLASS at Cultus Lake and met with researchers, biologists and members of the local stewardship community.
Dec 16th. Spring Bay. Dove this area today to video record the littoral and sub littoral zones for future illustration purposes and to look for Pygmy Sculpin. Water temp. 7C. Visibility was fair but decreasing below 40' depth.
Unlike most of the eastern shoreline (where there is a relatively narrow littoral zone), Spring Bay has an extensive photic region due to its gradual shallow slope. In the summer months, vertical flora forests of Milfoil and Elodea create a large aquatic "nursery" for schooling fish to hide in. In the winter, the (primarily Milfoil) forest dies off and collapses down to the substrate where it is decomposed by dentrivores and fungi/bacteria. At approximately 20-25 feet the littoral zone ends abruptly in a clearly delineated line and the sub-littoral zone begins.
Within the littoral zone the substrate is a mixture of cobble and gravel mixed with wood material. The sub-littoral zone turns to finer gravel overlain with a deepening layer of non solidified detritus (silt) intermittently punctuated by larger rocks, logs and the occasional man made debris.
Observed Milfoil beginning to "lay down" and die off, some cyanobacteria developing, and in the sub-littoral zone many examples of white fresh water encrusting sponges. No fish of any kind observed (odd).
Spring Bay Video:
Dec 26th. Delta Grove. Traversed the shoreline towards Spring Bay to a depth of 64' to video the alluvial fan habitat and demonstrate the difference in littoral zones between most of the eastern shore and Spring Bay. At the southern edge of Delta Grove there is little to no flora and the slope quickly transitions from coarse gravel to silt. There are the usual logs and man made debris present and at this time of year a proliferation of bacteria/fungus (don't know yet which it is) colonizing the decaying Milfoil. Eventually the steep slope of the alluvial fan eases off as it joins with the shallow profile of Spring Bay. Water temp 6C. No pygmy sculpin sited (not deep enough I think) but many juvenile schooling fish spotted along with one crayfish.
Delta Grove Video:
2013
Have decided to do a series of dives this spring/summer to try and document the Cultus Pygmy Sculpin (CPS) in its natural environment and look for evidence of spawning. I plan to use video footage primarily to record my findings. The second goal this summer is to encourage UW photographers to attend and take good quality images of the CPS in situe.
April 7th. Jade Bay. Today I dove south from Jade Bay to the Mk3 wreckage as I know CPS rest there. Along the way I observed clear gravel in the salmon spawning grounds (but no salmon) and a school of juvenile fish around the Bailey bridge panels. 5-6 CPS observed on the wreckage, all benthic.
Jade Bay Video
April 14th. Entrance Bay. Today I entered at the north end of Entrance Bay and swam into the cove between Entrance Bay and the old marina site. Traversed the cove and surfaced at the south end of the marina. Along the way I observed a number of CPS (all benthic) primarily towards the Entrance Bay side of the cove. Most of the dive was at 70-75 feet. Very barren topography comprised of fine silt with few natural or manmade structures.
Entrance Bay Video
May 8th. Entrance Bay. A repeat of April 14th's dive. Six divers in three groups. A pre-dive discussion included an overview of fish identification, observation goals and DFO's no harm/harassment policy in regards to fish and habitat. One team also included a good quality camera with which we captured some excellent images (to be posted soon). Max depth 70' in the cove and sited approx. 10 CPS. On the marina side of the cove we found a Coast Range Sculpin rookery with many dens and fish as well as a white egg mass in a crevice. This was too big to be a CPS mass but we will attempt to ID it's species of origin regardless.
A return to the area is planned for next week to capture more images. All will be posted in the images section.
May 15th. Old Marina Site. Another great night with four divers present. We met at the old marina site and after a short briefing set off in two buddy teams. Both teams skirted the southern shoreline into the cove and then dropped down to the bottom at 60-70 feet. We found many Pygmy Sculpin and captured some great images. One highlight was observing an undocumented behavior. We have seen the CPS resting on the silt, and buried in the silt, but tonight we saw it deliberately burying itself in the silt with a specific action. This adds to the little known body of knowledge of its benthic behavior.
May 15th video
May 20th. Old Marina Site. Two divers returned to capture more images at the 60-70' depth. A high density of CPS are found close to the bedrock wall along the north part of the cove. Groups of Large Scale Suckers seen schooling at the creek outflow. I could not tell if they were spawning or gathering to feed off insects washed into the lake from the creek.
May 22nd. Old Marina Site. Tonight's dive was dark with an overcast raining sky. Found many CPS in the 55 - 70' range and recorded more images. Hopeful we will find some sign of spawning soon. One image shows two CPS within close proximity of each other under a branch. It is nor common to see CPS together like that. Beginning to notice Hydras (a larval fish predator) showing up in macro shots.
May 22nd. Old Marina Site. Tonight's dive was dark with an overcast raining sky. Found many CPS in the 55 - 70' range and recorded more images. Hopeful we will find some sign of spawning soon. One image shows two CPS within close proximity of each other under a branch. It is nor common to see CPS together like that. Beginning to notice Hydras (a larval fish predator) showing up in macro shots.
As well we encountered a strange underwater leachate in the shallows that appeared to be weeping out of the rocks in one area of the marina site. It reduced the visibility greatly and dropped down the slope into the depths. It's origin is unknown and I have never seen this before so I forwarded video of it to my contact at DFO.
May 29th. Old Marina Site. Dove to the south of the Marina Site as this is an area where we are now finding many CPS. Observed some in the open and others in shallow den sites or groups in twos and threes on logs. Observed odd egg sacs that are very common on the substrate. Below is an image. It appears the Large Scale Suckers have finished spawning. Photographers took more pics that have been added to the images section.
June 5th. Old Marina Site. Tonight's dive saw three divers in the water and more excellent photographs being taken of the Pygmy Sculpin and some other fauna within its habitat. Mike dove earlier in the day as well. Many CPS sightings (all benthic) and we are noticing more Hydras. Whether they were there before or not is unknown but they are a potential larval predator of the Pygmy Sculpin. We finished the dive by visiting the old mid 1950's Austin sedan that sits up side down at the north end of the marina site and then observed more schooling Large Scale Suckers near the creek outflow. There were also smaller fish schooling to feed as well (either stickleback or juvenile pike minnow, I couldn't tell) and a Loon above, feeding on them. Pictures added to the images section.
June 9th. Entrance Bay (north). Today 4 divers dove at noon into the cove from the Entrance Bay side. 3 descended to the bottom at 65-70' while one remained shallow and took pictures in the littoral zone. Many CPS sited both in the silt and resting on logs and debris. Gravid females noted. Very small juvenile sculpin also noted, though specific species ID was not possible. A small juvenile (< 1 cm) seen to be free swimming approx. 5 cm above the substrate. This is the first time I have seen a sculpin do this. Photo's added to images section.
June 16th. Old Marina Site. Did a dive today to flag potential spawning sites we've been looking at. These include logs, cans, tires and other debris residing in the sub littoral zone. Sited several adult CPS's and many juveniles. Below is a video of the dive.