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Joy-riding jet boaters are killing salmon and destroying thousands of eggs on the upper Pitt River, says the owner of a fishing lodge on the remote waterway near Maple Ridge.

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Dan Gerak said the number of jet boaters on the upper river, which feeds into the north side of Pitt Lake from its source in Garibaldi Provincial Park, has increased as jet boats have become “the latest toy” for those with money to burn.

On some weekends, Gerak said he has seen at least 20 boats speeding over the shallow water near Pitt River Lodge, which is seven kilometres upriver from the lake.

“These aren’t fishing boats,” he said. “These guys pull up (to the boat launch) with big, fancy trucks and their jet boats or jet skis, and they ride up and down the river over the spawning beds. They think it’s fun to race over the gravel bars or try to jump the bars.”

Gerak said he wants the area closed to jet boats, explaining “they’re doing more damage to the river than anything I’ve seen before.”

In spring, Gerak said he’s seen fry washed ashore by jet-boat waves, littering the river’s edge with young fish.

In the summer and fall, when adult fish are returning to the river to lay eggs in the gravel, the jet boats disturb the river bottom, sucking up water and eggs before spewing them out in a trail behind them.