Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
It wasn’t quite ready to accept salmon fry, but an opening ceremony in June 1993 for the new Noons Creek hatchery in Port Moody was a good omen for local naturalists and environmentalists. As well as the fish.
Constructed with cedar donated by the Flavelle sawmill and the skills of local tradespeople who donated their time and talents, the 1,000 sq. ft. structure in a wooded site next to the Port Moody recreation centre was praised as a beacon of hope for the local salmon population that had been struggling from years of increasing development around its spawning streams.
It was also a testimony to the range of people who could work together in the interests of saving the salmon.
One of them, a retired architect who just moved to the area from England, said his involvement in the project was a way to ease himself into his new community.
Rob Way, a fishing enthusiast, said he used his powers of persuasion to bring structural, soil and other engineers into the project.
Port Moody Ecological Society president Jim Spurr said the new hatchery proved a good way to keep the disparate assembly “off the streets.”
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
