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12° Terrace Review — Wednesday, September 10, 1986

Hatchery helps enhance fish stocks —

Deep Creek

TERRACE — A visit to
Terrace’s Deep Creek
salmon hatchery is an
idyllic and relaxing ex-
perience. The building,
an unassuming structure
finished in rough cedar,
seems to have grown out
of the sylvan surround-

‘ings as naturally as a
‘mushroom. Flanked by

silent ponds and set

within hearing distance
of Deep Creek’s liquid
music, the hatchery ex-
udes a storybook  at-

‘mosphere of placidity

and peace.

by Michael Kelly
A tour of the

Don Norstrom, employee at the Deep Creek hatchery,
takes fry from Capilano trough rearing sites indoors to
an outdoor pond. The small fish are raised in the troughs
until they are about two inches long and moved to the
ponds where they grow to be eight or nine inches jong

before being released.

ta os

Bill Middleton, foreman at ihe Deep Creek salmon hat-
chery In Terrace, releases small fish into outdoor ponds.

hatchery’s interior, con-
ducted by project
manager Grant
Hazelwood, reveals a
riverine environment
designed to provide an
ideal place for fish to
grow in. The sound of
flowing water is
everywhere, and the air
is cool and humid.

Hazelwood explains
that the purpose of
enhancement is to help
endangered species of
fish recover population
levels faster than would
be possible under natural
conditions. He expects a
return of 10-20 percent
on the stocks released by
the Deep Creek opera-
tion, in contrast to the
natural return. of two to
four percent.

The fish-rearing pro-
gram is operated by the

Terrace Kitsumkalum _

Salmonid Enhancement
Society with funding on
an annual contract basis
by the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans
through their Commun-
ity Economic Develop-
ment Program. The
organization was found-
ed in 1983 by a coalition
of local sports fishermen
and the Kitsumkalum In-
dian Band. Their
enhancement program
began with a pilot pro-
ject, and returning fish
from the original release
are expected in 1988,
The enhancement pro-
cess begins with the net-
ting of fish from rivers
and streams where stocks
have been determined to
be threatened. Eggs and
sperm are extracted from
the captured fish, and
the fertilized ova are
placed in trays. The trays
are suffused with water,
temperature controlled
by mixing water from
Deep Creek with that of
a nearby ground spring,
and kept in the incuba-

_tion room until hatching.

The tiny fish are then
transferred to troughs in
the main part of the
hatchery and fed until
they achieve two to three
grams in size. At that
point in growth they are
either released in their
native spawning. grounds
or, in the case of
especially endangered
stocks, kept in the
brooding ponds outside
the building for further
feeding and growth.
Hazelwood points out
that larger fish have a
better chance of survival
after being released. In
order to distinguish hat-
chery fish from wild
stocks, each fish has its
adipose fin clipped and a
tag inserted before being
released.

Standing outside by
the pond, Hazelwood
remarks that the society
has resisted all attempts
to encourage expansion.
‘‘We’re not interested in
a productien line opera-

tion,’’ ‘His attitude
toward the creatures the
hatchery is attempting to
preserve is apparent. in
his . feelings about the
Organization’s new
steelhead enhancement
program. ‘‘Steelhead are
nice to work with
because you can release
them again after the eggs

are taken, They’ll come
back to spawn two,
three, or more times,
The salmon, weil... they
die naturally anyway
after spawning, but you
still feel bad, having to
kill them after the eggs
are taken.’’
Hazelwood looks
around, pointing out the

various species of birds
in the surrounding
woods, and it would be
easy to gain the impres-
sion that he knows every
fish in the pond by
name. “What we have
here,”’ he says, ‘is not so
much a facility as a
philosophy.’’ That says

it all.

Grant Hazelwood, project manager for the Deep ¢ Creek salmon hatchery, expects a return
of 10-20 percent ¢ on stocks released,compared with a natural return of two to four percent.

In Terrace court

On Monday, Aug. 25
in Terrace Provincial
Court Kenneth Valcourt
was fined $100 for a
breach of recognizance.

“ko

In Terrace Provincial
Court on Monday, Aug.
25 Reginald Fortin was
fined $200 for causing
bodily harm to the com-
plaintant.

* kk

“On Thursday, Aug. 28
in Terrace Provincial
Court, Annie Wilson
was found guilty of driv-
ing while her ability to
drive was impaired and
was fined $400.

- oe me &

‘In Terrace Provincial
Court on Friday, Aug.
29 Gerry Roy was found
guilty of breaking and
entering with intent to
commit an indictable of-
fence and was jailed for
three months and was
also put on a one year
probation period.

In Terrace Provincial
Court on Friday, Aug.
22 Douglas Harrison was
jailed 30 days for theft.
Harrison was also jailed

another 30 days concur-

rent for theft.
ee
On Wednesday, Aug.
20 in Terrace Provincial
Court Elizabeth Stevens
was fined $450 for driv-
ing a motor vehicle while
her ability to drive was
impaired.
wok om
In Terrace Provincial
Court on Monday, Aug.
25 John Dignard was
jailed for 14 days for a
breach of recognizance.
x kk
On Friday, Aug. 29 in
Terrace Provincial Court
Hardev Manhas was fin-
ed $300 for an offence

under the Motor Vehicle ©

Act. Manhas was also
fined $15 for a different
offence under the Motor
Vehicle Act.

In Terrace Provincial
Court, on Friday, Aug.
22 Robert Lawson was
found guilty of driving
while his ability to
operate a motor vehicle
was impaired, Lawson
was jailed 14 days inter-
mittent, and received a
three month probation
period. Lawson’s drivers
licence was also put on a
six month suspension.

**

On Friday, Aug. 22 in
Terrace Provincial
Court, James Beedle was
fined $750 for operating
a motor vehicle while his
ability to drive was im-
paired.

ee

In Terrace Provincial
Court on Friday, Aug.
22 Robert Ellis was
found guilty of driving
with more than 80 mgs,
of alcohol in his blood,
and was fined $500,