Hatchery

The Hatchery project began in 2021 with funding from an agreement with the Coastal Gas Link Pipeline group. The project aimed to run for five years. In the first year, eight individuals were hired, and the old hatchery was cleaned out. Three Hatchery in a Box units, built by the Okanogan Nation, were installed. Additionally, a new water aeration tower was constructed with the help of local workers, completing the tasks by September 2021.

Maureen Ritter and Canada Cryogenetics joined the project to provide technical oversight. In September 2020, eggs were gathered from the Tache River and brought to the hatchery for fertilization and hatching. These salmon were kept until June 2022 when they were released into various creeks (Yekooche, Sowchea, Nahoonli, and Binche) and the Natal River at Tache. A total of 90,000 salmon were released in the first year, with a survival rate of 92%.

In August 2022, the project collected its first Early Stuart Sockeye and late Stuart Sockeye eggs, totaling approximately 70,000. These eggs are planned for release in June 2023.