What We Do

Here’s our Mission Statement.

To enhance salmon and steelhead populations and encourage sustainable management of fisheries in the Seymour River.

Our mission is to educate our community about the value of the Seymour River and the salmonids it supports as a resource for everyone living in our community.

Fish stocks in the Seymour River have been cut off from their traditional spawning grounds by the construction of the Seymour Falls Dam. We collect adult fish and take their eggs and milt. The eggs are fertilized and then incubated until the alevins hatch. The alevins use up their yolk sac and turn into fry. When the fry turn into smolts they are released to go to the ocean.

We raise Coho, Steelhead, Pinks, and Chum at the hatchery until they are ready to start their migration to the ocean. The length of time we have them at the hatchery is dependent on their life history. Coho and Steelhead are at the hatchery for over a year while Pink and Chum salmon fry are at the hatchery for a much shorter time before they are ready to migrate to the ocean.

Each year we raise 30,000 steelhead smolts, 350,000 chum fry and 120,000 coho smolts. Of these, 40,000 fry are released into the reservoir above the dam, around 35,000 fry are released into habitat projects and approximately 45,000 are released as smolts.

Every second year about 500,000 pink smolts are released into the Seymour watershed.

We support other groups including hatcheries and schools with assistance in stewardship. We supply eyed eggs and supplementation to the ‘salmonids in the classroom’ program run in North Shore schools.

Habitat

Another directive of the Seymour Salmonid Society is habitat protection, creation and rehabilitation. The fish have lost most of their original spawning and rearing habitat to the dam, we have been active in the creation of new habitat by way of spawning channels and over-wintering refuges in the river below the dam. Over 40,000 square metres has been created since 1996.

Education

Seymour Hatchery and Education offers an education program called ‘Gently Down the Seymour’. It focuses on elementary school age students. This unique program combines outdoor hands-on experience with classroom research.

Partners in Enhancement

The Seymour Hatchery is supported in part by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, (Community Economic Development Program), Metro Vancouver and the Ministry of Forest, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. We also rely on financial support from our corporate sponsors and individual members of whom we are extremely grateful.

Ensuring Healthy Salmon and Trout Stocks

Long ago salmon returned by the millions to spawn in the local rivers of North Vancouver. In a dramatic and captivating spectacle this cycle of life went on for thousands of years without disruption. Today the effects of urbanization, dams, loss of habitat, pollution and over fishing have reduced the resource in a comparatively very short time. Today fish stocks are enhanced and protected  by facilities such as the Seymour River Hatchery.ff