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Coho Salmon at Toboggan Creek
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by Tammy Lipke
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| What to do with the kids on a long summer day? Here's an idea for kids of all ages. Visit the Toboggan Creek Hatchery, in the shadow of Hudson Bay Mountain, 15 minutes drive north of Smithers on Highway 16.
Turn west on Evelyn Road, you'll see the signs. Visitors are welcome and the staff will take the time to explain the entire process of rearing fish.
Once you arrive at the building, if there's someone there you can tour the building and ask questions. You can always call ahead at 847-4458.
What is the hatchery for?
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The main building at the hatchery
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The last 20 years has seen a steady decrease in the numbers of salmon in the upper Skeena watershed, which includes the Bulkley River. For example, according to Department of Fisheries documents, "Between 1970 and 1998, the size of the Babine Lake coho (numbers) shrank by an average of 5 per cent each year. .... The average age of a Babine coho at return is 3.3 years. Consequently, every generation the size of the (coho population) shrank by an average of 16 per cent."
Statisitics like this show that there is a critical need to know how many fish we have in our local rivers and the survival rate of young fish smolts. Dropping numbers of fish point to the need to supplement wild fish with hatchery-reared fish, especially in years with low rates of return of spawning adult fish.
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The hatchery channel has rope strung above it to discourage birds of prey
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The Federal government set up hatcheries such as the Toboggan Creek Hatchery to increase the number of fish in the Bulkley River and to keep statistics on the survival rate of hatchery and wild salmon populations, . Survival of wild salmon eggs and young can be less than 1% but it's possible to get a 96% survival rate in the hatchery, although the survival rate to adulthood is much lower.
The fish hatchery is a year-round operation. The number of staff varies, according to time of year and to the amount of activity. There are two full-time employees, and up to 8 part-time staff during their busiest times of year, such as summer. The staff gives tours, takes calls, and most importantly, takes care of a precious natural resource - our fish. But let's start at the beginning of the process.
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