The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honorable Diane Lebouthillier, announced collaborative steps towards a new Pacific salmon hatchery on the Chilcotin River. Construction of the proposed hatchery will be funded by the Government of Canada and operated by the Tŝilhqot’in National Government in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Over the past year, the government has provided $675,000 to the Tŝilhqot’in National Government to support the response to the recent landslide on the Chilcotin River and other fishery-related activities.
Chinook salmon returning to the Chilcotin watershed holds deep historic and cultural importance to the Tŝilhqot’in people and other First Nations with connections to the Fraser River. The proposed hatchery will support these Chilcotin-watershed Chinook populations, some of which have been assessed as at-risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. These plans build on the expertise and extensive technical work led by the Tŝilhqot’in National Government, including baseline data collection, feasibility assessments, hatchery design, and building technical capacity. A Tsilhqot’in-led conservation hatchery is a priority among the six main Tŝilhqot’in communities for rebuilding fish and fisheries and is a critical tool for the recovery and rebuilding of resilient stocks for a thriving traditional fishery.
The proposed hatchery is made possible with funding through DFO’s Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), a transformative investment toward the protection and restoration of Pacific salmon and their habitats. With this proposed hatchery, DFO and the Tŝilhqot’in National Government are working together to address historic salmon declines and improve access to the fish that are the lifeblood of Indigenous peoples in the region.
“Our number one priority is to preserve wild fish stocks. There are many things affecting these stocks, meaning their survival rate is very low. We feel we must intervene and find solutions. What we enhance here is the lifeline to coastal economies and ways of life. The relationship between Orcas and Chinook is an example of this. All sectors have to work together, and we must take a long, hard look at what we prioritize. Our natural stocks must be at the top of this list,” said Nits’ilʔin Joe Alphonse, Tŝilhqot’in National Government Tribal Chair.
Quick Facts
- DFO’s Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) is an integrated hatchery, stewardship, and habitat restoration program.
- Each year, SEP produces more than 300 million juvenile salmon for harvest, stock assessment, rebuilding, conservation, and stewardship and educational purposes. The program annually engages with over 10,000 volunteers, undertakes upwards of 50 restoration projects, supports 250 plus volunteer-led projects and 17 Community Economic Development Program (CEDP) and First Nations hatcheries, 80 smaller-scale community enhancement efforts (Public Involvement Program (PIP)), and supplies school education and awareness programs.
- SEP also restores habitat in rivers, streams, and wetlands, and supports citizen and First Nation involvement in salmon enhancement and watershed stewardship.
- This is the third proposed new hatchery that DFO has announced under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative; two others are planned for Prince George and Gitanyow, BC.
