NANAIMO — Vancouver Island University is closing its student-operated salmon hatchery after almost three decades in operation, thanks to Nanaimo’s new reservoir.
VIU fisheries and aquaculture technician Dan Fox said the water would be turned off at the Chase River Hatchery by the end of November.
The hatchery has used raw water piped in from Nanaimo’s Reservoir No. 1, an open-air water storage facility.
A new enclosed reservoir expected to be completed in spring will store chlorinated water from the city’s water treatment plants. That means the hatchery will no longer have access to the raw water needed for salmon spawning.
“It does seem like a loss; there’s a lot of sentimental value for our little hatchery,” Fox said. “It’s been a great learning tool and great outdoor classroom for our students.”
During the past decade, students at the hatchery have noticed a marked improvement in the number of healthy coho and chum salmon that return to Chase River, though it remains unclear what impact the hatchery had on local populations, as the fish released were not tagged for identification.
Fox said the ebb and flow of salmon numbers in Chase River has offered a glimpse at how the health of small streams near urban centres might be maintained successfully. Students in the VIU aquaculture program will still be “very active” on the Chase River, Fox said. Their salmon counts are reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The school also has trout and tilapia rearing facilities and the International Centre for Sturgeon Studies.
