Efforts to rescue trapped salmon continue, 10 weeks after Big Bar landslide

It's been more than two months since hundreds of thousands of salmon were trapped by a landslide on the Fraser River near Kamloops, B.C.

Efforts to rescue the trapped fish have included moving the fish upstream via helicopter, construction of a road along the river to transport the fish by truck, and controlled blasts to remove the rocks.

The latest effort involves what contractors are calling a "fish wheel."

"It's a tool used for catching fish, for capture and transport above the slide," said Nicole Gallant with the Big Bar Landslide Information Team. "Just think of a wagon wheel going through water, and it has some buckets and as it goes down to the water it will catch fish."

So far, close to 50,000 fish have been transported upstream, a number Gallant is hoping will increase dramatically once a second — and much larger — fish wheel is installed. 

The team is also hoping to start transporting the fish upstream by truck, which has a larger carrying capacity than the helicopters being used. The road was built a few weeks ago and will be tested this weekend. 

The late June slide at Big Bar created a five-metre waterfall, blocking salmon trying to migrate upstream to spawn. More salmon are expected to arrive in the coming days, Gallant said. 

"We're trying to get [them] as quickly as possible because as they hold [their eggs] their health deteriorates," she said. "And that's why we are doing so many different techniques."

More than 180 people are trying to help the trapped fish but it's not clear when things will return to normal, Gallant said.

Close to one million salmon are expected along that section of the Fraser River this year. Only about 13,000 of the trapped fish have been able to swim past the slide.