So far, monitoring of creeks and streams on Cortes Island indicates a very poor return of chum salmon to their spawning grounds this year, according to Christine and Cec Robinson. They're longtime members of the local stream keepers project, overseen by the conservation and stewardship organization Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI). Monitoring of the chum return occurs from mid-September to early December each year.

The Robinsons say it's a "mystery" as to why the return is so low. They add that it could be due to a combination of this summer's drought conditions, which resulted in water levels being low in local streams, as well as rising ocean temperatures which affect the chum salmon diet.

Cec says that of the four streams they monitor on Cortes, Basil Creek in Squirrel Cove usually has the highest number of returning chum, often several hundred, and in the best year it was 1,300. However, this year they've only counted a dozen fish at Basil Creek. All the other streams have much smaller runs and usually only see 12 - 30 fish returning each year. One of the creeks has had about 12 fish so far this year, while another one, that often just sees a dozen or so returning chum, has had none this year.

Cec adds that the run isn't over yet, and he's hopeful things will improve. And Christine says it's not yet clear whether what appears to be happening on Cortes Island is part of a bigger regional trend, or an isolated situation.

Find out more in the CKTZ interview below with the Robinsons: