Koeye River Weir (the ultimate bushcraft project!)

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Dec 19, 2006
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0
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Loch Tay
I thought I'd share some photos of a fish weir I designed and built on the River Koeye in B.C. Canada last spring. The Koeye is one of the few unlogged watersheds on the west coast of B.C. It's a unique and intact ecosystem full of grizzly bears, wolves and salmon.


The project was a collaboration between Hakai Beach Institute, a scientific research organization for whom I work and Qqs Project Society, a Heiltsuk First Nation nonprofit organization supporting youth, culture and environment.


First Nations people on the Northwest Coast built weirs (basically picket fences) and fish traps on salmon rivers as a means of harvesting returning fish. However, they have not been used in Bella Bella for close to 100 years.

The main goal of this project was to count the returning sockeye run for scientific study but it turn out to be a quite the bushcraft project!


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HHazeldean

Native
Feb 17, 2011
1,529
0
Sussex
That whole area looks stunningly beautiful, and that picket fence looks like a very ethical way to trap large quantities of the right size salmon. What an incredible opportunity to be a part of something like that, very jealous indeed!!
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Looks excellent Grant :) and a beautiful bit of the world too :D

I see photos like this and am poignantly reminded that that's how our rivers used to look in the UK before Industrialisation and huge population growth and the concommitant pollution :sigh:

Something to aim for :D
Thank you for sharing :cool:

atb,
Mary
 

VaughnT

Forager
Oct 23, 2013
185
61
Lost in South Carolina
Gorgeous country! That must have been like stepping back in time!

What's the story on that shelter top thing? Very neat way of making a quick shelter, and it looks like you could have a decent fire under it.
 

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