The Canadian government has announced more than C$50 million (US$36.2 million) in contracts for the construction of three salmon hatcheries in British Columbia.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced on Aug. 25 the conservation hatcheries will be on traditional First Nations territory or operated by local Nation.

The largest contract, worth C$38 million (US$27.5 million), was awarded to to IDL Projects Inc. which will construct the Upper Fraser River Salmon Conservation Hatchery near the Nechako and Fraser rivers in Prince George, B.C. The hatchery will have an initial capacity to raise 400,000 juvenile Chinook salmon annually with the potential to expand or support the enhancement of other species such as sockeye, resulting in thousands of additional adult salmon returns annually.

“With an eye towards our shared future, we are positioned to impart traditional knowledge and opportunities on Nation youth, while developing new skills and employment opportunities,” said Chief Dolleen Logan, on behalf of Lheidli T’enneh First Nation in a statement. “From training and development opportunities to strong collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, we look forward to working to advance the co-management of a Pacific salmon hatchery in Prince George, B.C.”

The hatchery will be owned and operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and collaboratively managed with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, with support from Canfor. It will be built on the north bank of the Nechako River, near its confluence with the Fraser River, and in Lheidli T’enneh First Nation territory.

The other two contracts are awarded construction contracts of about C$7.5 million (US$5.4 million) each.

Architectural rendering of the Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery to come (Photo: Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

The Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery, located on the Kitwanga River in northwestern B.C., will enter its next phase of development to have the capacity to raise 300,000 juvenile sockeye salmon, with the potential to expand to up to 400,000. It will be built by the Government of Canada and operated in partnership with the Gitanyow First Nation.

“Thirty years ago, Chief Biiyosxw of Wilp Gwaas Hla’am was raising salmon in a small wooden shed beside the creek because we understood then, as we do today, that we have a responsibility to care for the salmon and the waters that sustain them,” said Joel Starlund/Sk’a’nism Tsa ‘Win’Giit, Executive Director, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs Office. “To see Wilp’Ho Dix now taking shape at the entrance to Gitanyow Village is incredibly meaningful.”

The Hanceville Hatchery will be a brand new Pacific salmon conservation hatchery to be built in the upper Fraser River watershed on the traditional territory of the Tŝilhqot’in First Nation. The hatchery will have an initial capacity to raise 250,000 Chinook salmon fry annually and will incorporate design features and technology, which will enable adjustment of operations to evolving conservation priorities.

“Salmon are not just a resource for our people; they are food security, intergenerational knowledge sharing, connection to the land and waters, our culture, and who we are as Tŝilhqot’in, the River People,” said Chief Otis Guichon, Sr., Tŝideldel First Nation, Tribal Chief of the Tŝilhqot’in National Government. “We’ve been working toward this permanent hatchery since 2019 because we know that our fish should be raised here at home.”

Aquaculture North America

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