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The Chinook Salmon Net Pen Project
see ALL the pictures here!
 This
ocean grown Chinook net pen project was initialized in 2004 in San Juan Bay
located at Port Renfrew on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It was done so in
a bid to increase the survival rate of San Juan Chinook Salmon.
The local Sports Fishery Advisory Committee
had contacted the DFO community advisor (Tom Rutherford) who approved this pilot
project and site in San Juan Bay. The local Sports Fishery Advisory Committee (Nitnat,
Port Renfrew and Cowichan area) then approached the Valley Fish and Game club
who in turn agreed to undertake this project. The local San Juan Hatchery at
that time supplied 10,250 Chinook Salmon fry for the project.
The Valley Fish and Game Club supplied the
volunteers who secured a net pen which was donated by the Esquimalt Angler
Association in order to get the project underway. Volunteers from the Fish and
Game Club and the community of Port Renfrew donated their time, boats and
expertise needed for the success of the project.
On June 22/04 the Chinook where transferred to
the Port Renfrew Community wharf where they were loaded into the net pen by way
of a hose from a container and towed 1 kilometer to the site in San Juan Bay.
The Chinook salmon at that time weighed on average 5.8 grams. They were fed
twice a day and reared for 20 days.
Upon release the Chinook salmon weight had
almost doubled to an average weight of 11.28 grams.
With the difficult logistics of transporting
the fish from the hatchery to the community wharf and dropping them down a 20’
long 6” hose to the pen and towing them over a kilometer to the site it would
not have been unusual to see a high mortality. With all of that and the 20 day
rearing period there was only 78 mortalities.
Upon the success of the first year of the
pilot project it was then officially approved. The next year another net pen was
added with the financial support of the
Pacific Salmon Foundation. The project
has been continued every year since and DFO has acknowledged its success.
This project is testimony to the sports
fishing community improving the resource for use by all Canadians.
Net Pen Chinook raised and released:
Financial supporters and volunteers of the
project:
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