Great Success! 2022 Salmon Release Festival at Chapman Creek
On Saturday, 21 May 2022 we hosted our Salmon Release Festival to provide an opportunity for the public to participate in, and assist us with the process of releasing some of our over 22,000 Coho Salmon into Chapman Creek, and eventually, into the local ecosystem.
The Festival was held under sunny skies on the long weekend, enabling our local and visiting supporters to come and see what is done at the hatchery, and support the release. The Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society aims to assist, encourage, and promote salmonid enhancement in the streams of the Sunshine Coast and to provide educational services to the public regarding salmonids.
Each and every person who attended helped us work towards the accomplishment of our mission. Thank you, one and all. With almost 500 people of all ages at the hatchery on the day. it was a splashing place! The opening ceremony by the Sechelt First Nations was wonderful and moving for all to appreciate the role the salmon occupy in first nations culture.
Visitors were able to enjoy a tour of the grounds, see the hatchery infrastructure, meet our terrific Hatchery Manager, Bill, engage with our supporting organizations and volunteers, and of course, release some Coho into the creek!
On behalf of the leadership of the Society, we want to thank our dedicated leadership and volunteers who helped plan and run this festival. We cannot deliver on our mission without significant volunteer effort, and this festival took considerable work to deliver. Thank you all!!
We were also assisted by many supporting and participating organizations who helped make this event such a great success. Thank you to all these organizations and people below:
97.1 Coast FM
BC Conservation Officer Service
Bonniebrook Industries Ltd
Coastal Vibe
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Pacific)
Eastlink
Haley GM
Nicholas Simons
Patrick Weller
Sechelt First Nations
Sechelt Rotary Club
Sunshine Coast Arts Centre
Sunshine Coast Butterfly Rangers
Sunshine Coast Community Forest
Sunshine Coast Rod and Gun Club
Sunshine Coast Stream Keepers
Sunshine Coast Trail Builders
The Coast Reporter
The Town of Sechelt
Vital Signs and Graphics
Sunshine Coast Foundation
Now that the public component to our release program is complete Bill and our volunteers have completed the process of releasing all the hatchery reared Coho into the creek. They are now all out in the ecosystem, so watch for them in the next 18 months before they return to the creek to spawn.
