From mid-April to the end of the month, our pink and chum fry are released. All of the pink fry are released into Kanaka Creek at the hatchery. However, most of our chum are destined for other watersheds. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (typically called DFO) will transport fish from the BIH to be released in many different watersheds throughout the lower mainland. Most are released into the Brunette River watershed (Byrne, Eagle, Stoney, and Still Creeks, as well as the Brunette River mainstem), but fry are released as far away as Spanish Banks Creek in Vancouver! Roughly 80,000 chum smolts are released into Kanaka Creek. The chum will typically spend 3 ½ years at sea before returning to their release stream to spawn.
At the end of April, KEEPS hosts its second major event, “Goodbye Chums”. This is an opportunity for families to come to the Bell-Irving Hatchery and release chum fry to Kanaka Creek, and see the displays set up by participating local groups.
The rearing ponds will have the previous year’s coho juveniles, and these can most easily be seen during feeding time, typically every day.