News

The fish are all grown up and no longer in need of adult supervision.

The Kwikwetlem First Nation released about 9,000 Coho Salmon to the Coquitlam Watershed earlier this week, marking the first time the Nation has re-populated its traditional territory with its own hatchery-grown Salmon. 

Multiple Kwikwetlem members attended the historic event, including two Elders who participated in releases at the Coquitlam Lake boat launch and Cedar Creek.

"When working at the hatchery, our goal is to raise fish," said Rodney Lee, the Nation's project coordinator of fisheries and the hatchery.

"It's always a big moment when you get to release the product of many hundreds of hours of personal care and attention. But the really special part was that Kwikwetlem were able to sing for these fish — release them to their lake — have the Elders participate and to exercise their culture." 

The fish were nurtured for more than six months at the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm t́ák̓ʷ Hatchery, a Nation-led hatchery located in the Coquitlam Watershed that officially opened last fall. The Coho were fertilized and in incubation — where they grew in eggs — in November. 

More than 9,000 Coho eggs then hatched in mid-February, before turning into fry and starting to swim in April. 

Ultimately, the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm t́ák̓ʷ Hatchery is aiming to raise Sockeye Salmon in the Coquitlam Watershed, an area that was once filled with fish and sustained the Nation for thousands of years. 

"We have switched the facility over to raise Sockeye," said Lee, adding that the hatchery team has since disinfected the water to make way for the new fish. Sockeye are expected to be raised at the hatchery later this year. 

"We now wait and anticipate the first Sockeye of the season to officially start raising Sockeye at this facility." 

The recent batch of Coho Salmon will help the Nation understand survival rates for hatchery-grown fish that leave the Coquitlam River. 

(Salmon species typically migrate from the ocean back to the streams or lakes where they were born to spawn. Most Salmon return around the ages of three or four.) 

Earlier in June, the adipose fins were trimmed off the thousands of Coho—a common procedure that will help the Nation determine whether a fish that returns originally came from the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm t́ák̓ʷ Hatchery. 

If all goes well, the Coho will be spotted at a trap below the Coquitlam Dam.

The Coho release comes as the Coquitlam River experiences a healthy return of fish. Last summer, more than a dozen Sockeye Salmon returned to the trap below the dam, matching the total from the past eight years combined. The Sockeye were then transported and released into Coquitlam Lake.  

Scroll through the images below to see how the fish were transported from the hatchery to the Coquitlam Lake and Cedar Creek. 

Water temperature is crucial to the survival of salmon. Before giving the green light, Rodney Lee spent a final few minutes testing the water to get the fish acclimatized to Coquitlam Lake. 

After growing in the hatchery for months, the fish were ready to head on a journey. These four buckets of fish would be the first of roughly 9,000 to be released on June 30. 

Members gathered on the shore to sing, marking the moment and wishing the salmon well wishes on their journey into open waters. 

Cedar Creek, located about five kilometres north of the Coquitlam Lake boat launch, was where most of the fish were released. The stream flows into the lake in relatively calm, shallow waters. 

Within the next few years, when the Coho are ready to spawn, the Nation hopes to welcome these fish back home to the Coquitlam Watershed.