CLINTON, B.C. — The federal and British Columbia governments say they're working with local First Nations, communities and stakeholders to co-ordinate response to a "significant" rock slide in the Fraser River.
The slide happened around June 21 or 22 in a remote area upstream of a narrow portion of the Fraser River near Big Bar, just west of Clinton, B.C., in the province's Interior.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the obstruction has created a five-metre waterfall and raises concerns about whether salmon migrating upstream can reach their spawning grounds.
The department's Bonnie Antcliffe says on a conference call with reporters that it has installed acoustic monitoring equipment to determine if fish are able to pass up through the rock slide to the upper part of the river.
She says an initial assessment shows that chinook salmon are holding below the slide and having difficulty getting up past the falls that have been created by it.
Jennifer Davis, with the B.C. Forests Ministry, says they're looking at options including transporting the fish by truck to the upper part of the river or dealing with the debris in the waterway, but it's too premature to say what action they will take.