Fish of Richmond

About 15,000 years ago, no fish would have been present in the area now known as British Columbia as the area was covered with ice. Between 15,000 and 11,000 years ago, the ice gradually melted. Depressions left in the land surface as the ice melted formed lakes drained by rivers. Fish moved into these lakes and rivers from areas that were not covered with ice. Fish likely entered the Fraser River from unglaciated areas of the Fraser River and Columbia River systems to the south or from the sea. (Carl et. al., 1967).

Aquatic habitats in or about the City of Richmond mainly include those associated with a) the Fraser River estuary and b) the many drainage waterways within the dike surrounding the City of Richmond.

The Fraser River forms the largest estuary along the Pacific Coast of North America. The mixing of fresh river water with saline marine water in estuaries creates an environment that supports a rich and diverse aquatic community. The variation in salinity from the marine waters at its mouth (for example, Sturgeon Bank) to freshwater farther upstream is a main contributor to the diversity of fish species found in the Fraser River estuary in the City of Richmond area.

Historically, naturally created watercourses in the City of Richmond would have been directly connected to the Fraser River. Over the years, many of these watercourses have been realigned or straightened and, as a result of construction of the dike surrounding the City of Richmond, many of the watercourses are now separated from the Fraser River by water control structures. However, the water control structures connecting drainage waterways in the City of Richmond and the Fraser River may allow fish to move between the drainage waterways and the Fraser River depending on each structure's design and operation. On this basis, any fish species recorded as being present in the Fraser River estuary has the potential to be present in any of the drainage waterways assuming the environmental conditions in the drainage waterway are suitable for the respective fish species. For example, due to the presence of mainly freshwater in most of the drainage waterways, it is unlikely that marine species present in the Estuary would be present in any of the drainage waterways.

Fish Species at Risk

The following fish species in the City of Richmond have been designated by COSEWIC (Committee On the Status of Endangered Species In Canada) as Endangered or of Special Concern or by the British Columbia Data Conservation Centre (BCDCC) as Red-Listed or Blue-Listed.

COSEWIC defines Endangered as a species facing imminent extirpation or extinction and defines Special Concern as a species of special concern because of characteristics that make it is particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.

BCDCC defines a Red-Listed species as any species that have or are candidates for Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened status in British Columbia. Extirpated taxa no longer exist in the wild in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. Endangered taxa are facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened taxa are likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. A Blue-Listed species includes any species considered to be of Special Concern (formerly Vulnerable) in British Columbia. Taxa of Special Concern have characteristics that make them particularly sensitive or vulnerable to human activities or natural events. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but are not Extirpated, Endangered or Threatened.

None of the fish species in the City of Richmond are on Schedule 1 of the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA). Schedule 1 is the official list of wildlife species at risk in Canada. It includes species that are extirpated (extinct in Canada), endangered, threatened, and of special concern. Once a species is listed on Schedule 1, protection and recovery measures are developed and implemented. Species on Schedule 2 or 3 of SARA have been designated at risk by COSEWIC but need to be assessed before possible inclusion onto Schedule 1.

Fish Species at Risk in Richmond, BC

White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): Endangered (COSEWIC), Red-Listed (BCDCC) & SARA Schedule 3

Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris): Special Concern (COSEWIC), Red-Listed (BCDCC) & SARA Schedule 3

Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus): Blue-Listed (BCDCC)

Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) – Interior Fraser Population: Endangered (COSEWIC)

Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki): Blue-Listed (BCDCC)

Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma): Blue-Listed (BCDCC)

Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) – Cultus Population: Endangered (COSEWIC)

Brassy Minnow (Hybognathus hankinsoni): Candidate for assessment by COSEWIC

Notes:

In the following list, areas where each fish species is typically found (marine, freshwater, brackish) in the Fraser River estuary are indicated. Whether a fish species found in the Fraser River is migratory (present in the mainstem river only for relatively short-periods during some stages of their life cycle), semi-resident (periodically move along the length of the lower river or even out of it temporarily), or resident (usually complete their life cycle entirely within the estuary and associated waters without extensive movements along its length) is also indicated.

The following list only includes references to those drainage waterways where each respective fish species has been recorded as being present. If a drainage waterway is not listed, this means that the fish species has not been recorded as being present and does not mean that the drainage waterway does not necessarily support the fish species.

For detailed information on each fish species, please refer to: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2004. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (06/2004) – http://www.fishbase.org/

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Birtwell, I.R., C.D. Levings, J.S. Macdonald and I.H. Rogers. 1988. A review of fish habitat issues in the Fraser River system. Water Poll. Research J. Canada Vol. 23 No. 1 pp1-29.

Carl, G.C., W.A. Clemens and C.C. Lindsey. 1967. The fresh-water fishes of British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum Dept. of Recreation and Conservation Handbook No. 5. 192pp.

Northcote, T.G. 1974. Biology of the lower Fraser River: a review. Westwater Research Centre Technical Report No. 3, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. 94 pp.

Northcote, T.G., N.T. Johnston, and K. Tsumura. 1978. A regional comparison of species distribution, abundance, size and other characteristics of lower Fraser River fishes. Westwater Research Centre Technical Report No. 14, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. 38 pp.

Northcote, T.G., N.T. Johnston, and K. Tsumura. 1976. Benthic, epibenhtic and drift fauna of the lower Fraser River. Westwater Research Centre Technical Report No. 11, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. 227 pp.

Richardson, J.S., T.J. Lissimore, M.C. Healey, and T.G. Northcote. 2000. Fish Communities of the lower Fraser River (Canada) and a 21-year contrast. Environ. Biol. Fishes. 59:125-140.

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Ableson D. R. 1973. Contributions to the life history of the Brassy Minnow. M. Sc. Thesis. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Carl, C. G., W. A. Clemens, and C.C. Lindsey. 1959. The fresh-water fishes of British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum Handbook No. 5, Queenís Printer, Victoria, BC.

Keenleyside, M. H. A. 1954. First record of the brassy minnow, Hybognathus hankinsoni, from British Columbia. Canadian Field-Naturalist 68: 43.

McPhail, J.D. and R. Carveth. 1999. Field Key to the Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia. Dept. Zoology, UBC.

McPhail, J.D. and E.B. Taylor. 1999. Morphological and genetic variation in northwestern longnose suckers, Catostomus catostomus: the Salish sucker problem. Copeia 1999: 884-893.

Volpe, J.P., Taylor, E.B., Rimmer, D.W., and Glickman, B.W. 2000. Evidence of natural reproduction of aquaculture-escaped Atlantic salmon in a coastal British Columbia river. Conservation Biology 14: 899-903.

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Please cite this page as: Naito, Brian. 2004. Fish of Richmond, BC. In: Klinkenberg, Brian and Rose Klinkenberg. The Biodiversity of Richmond, British Columbia. Web citation http://www.geog.ubc.ca/richmond/city/fish.html Compiled October 1, 2004.

Western Brook Lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident – Freshwater

Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Brackish & Freshwater

White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Semi-resident - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Semi-resident – Marine

American Shad (Alosa sapidissima)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory – Marine & Brackish

Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Semi-resident – Marine

Capelin (Mallotus villosus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident – Marine

Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Surf Smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory – Marine

Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)
Recorded Presence:	Nelson Road & Westminster Hwy Drainage Channel

Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Semi-resident - Brackish & Freshwater

Pacific Sandlance (Ammodytes hexapterus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River- Resident – Marine

Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Semi-resident - Brackish & Freshwater

Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Rainbow (Steelhead) Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Migratory - Marine, Brackish & Freshwater

Pacific Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Pacific Tomcod (Microgadus proximus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Peamouth Chub (Mylocheilus caurinus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Brackish & Freshwater

Leopard Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Brackish & Freshwater

Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys falcatus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Freshwater

Brassy Minnow (Hybognathus hankinsoni)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Freshwater

Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus grisealineatus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Brackish & Freshwater

Pile Perch (Rhacochilus vacca)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Shiner Perch (Cymatogaster aggregata)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Striped Seaperch (Embiotoca lateralis)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

Arrow Goby (Clevelandia ios)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine

High Cockscomb (Anoplarchus purpurescens)
Recorded Presence:	Fraser River - Resident - Marine