With the smolts now released into Hoy Creek, Coquitlam is using the fisheries window to upgrade the outdoor rearing pond at the hatchery.
City crews are expected to finish the work on the rearing pond this week, replacing structural beams with new untreated cedar posts.
The enclosure is more than 20 years old and is in need of an “emergency fix,” said Doron Fishman, the city’s asset and operations manager.
Last month, volunteers with the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society emptied the rearing pond of 2,700 coho smolts during a private Salmon Leave Home event (it was cancelled to the public due to the pandemic).
They also cleaned the tanks and released other invertebrates — such as crayfish, lampreys and caddisfly nymphs — that were trapped at the bottom.
First built in 1945 for trout on the former Brewer property, the stream-fed rearing pond and its enclosure were updated with funding from the Coquitlam Optimists.
The hatchery building — located across the footbridge and includes a back storage, pump area, an office and incubation room — was completed in 1997.
Both buildings are maintained by the municipality.
HATCHERY NEWS
Meanwhile, the society hosted its annual general meeting last month, and returned Robbin Whachell as president, hatchery manager Tyler Storgaard as vice president, Sandra Uno as secretary and Kyle Uno as treasurer on the executive.
Also last month, the society reported on a fish kill in Hoy Creek, south of Lasalle Place. City staff say about 15 to 20 small fish were found dead in a tributary of the creek.
To report a fish kill or pollution in the creek, you're urged to call the city’s engineering hotline at 604-927-3500.
