FAQ
What is the Seymour Salmonid Society?
How are you funded and what are the funds used?
How do I volunteer at the Seymour Hatchery?
We send out emails to our volunteers in advance of activities we require support with. Join us?
How do you use donations?
- Towards our Gently Down the Seymour (GDS) Education program
- Towards our hatchery broodstock program, including fish food
- Towards our ongoing conservation and habitat restoration works within the watershed
How do we access the hatchery and when can we visit?
When and where can we see salmon spawning?
Can I fish the Seymour River?
The river has been closed for all fishing since 2015 because of the Seymour Rockslide, which blocked passage of salmonids to the spawning and rearing habitat in the middle and upper river. The river remains closed for all fishing as we attempt to re-open the rockslide during all flow conditions to the returning salmonids, so it is unknown when it will re-open for fishing at this stage.
Why do I see people fishing the river?
Primarily the people fishing the river are permitted broodstockers for the Seymour Hatchery. These individuals will be wearing yellow hi-vis vests to designate them as permitted broodstockers. If you see individuals fishing without hi-vis vests, please call the Conservation Officers hotline (1-800-465-4336).
What species of salmonids inhabit the Seymour River
Early and late run coho salmon, pink, chum, and chinook salmon, along with summer and winter run steelhead.
What species of salmonids do you spawn and rear at the hatchery?
We spawn and rear coho, pink and chum salmon, along with summer and winter run steelhead.
How do I donate to the Seymour Salmonid Society?
You can make a donation to the Seymour Salmonid Society HERE!
Thank you!
Why do you produce salmonids for release into the Seymour watershed?
To mitigate for the loss of spawning and rearing habitat from the Seymour Falls water supply dam. To offset the loss of spawning habitat from urbanisation, channel straightening and industrial activities in the lower river. To mitigate for the effects of low ocean survival by all salmonids (i.e., predation, climate change, human induced impacts from fishing and habitat modification).
How many fish do you release every year?
Annually we release up to one million of fry and smolts for all species combined.
How do you know a returning adult is a hatchery fish?
During August and September each year we remove the adipose fin from our coho salmon and steelhead fry that we are rearing at the hatchery. The clipped fry and then transferred to our outdoor rearing ponds until the following spring before being released. A fish without an adipose fin is a hatchery fish, while those that retain their adipose fins are wild fish.
Where does the hatchery get the eggs to produce new fish as part of the enhancement program?
We primarily capture the returning adult salmonids via in-river seine netting events, or via broodstock fishing. On occasion we may also visit other rivers to collect eggs and sperm to support the rebuilding of salmonid populations on the Seymour (i.e., chum salmon from the Alouette River).