OFFICIAL 2016 Vancouver-Howe Sound-Sechelt Reports Thread

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I'm not a 100% sure as it may have been closer to 25 years ago when the program was in full swing. I believe the juvenile smolts were raised in net pens in one of the bays in Indian Arm. When the smolts became large enough to be released I think they moved them to where the discharge tubes from the buntzen powerhouse enter the ocean. I think they kept them in the vicinity of the powerhouse water tunnels long enough to imprint on that location as there home river. Once imprinted they were released to roam the ocean like any other salmon. In four years the adult springs returned to the Buntzen powerhouse discharge tubes as that was there home river to them. Anglers got to fish for them from July right till the fall because the springs had no real river to ascend. Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. They couldn't spawn in the discharge tubes so they were available to fish all summer long. I believe they used the Quinsam strain of red springs that returned early and reached large sizes. It was a very nice fishery while it lasted.
I worked briefly at the Cap hatchery as a summer student. We went up to the pens a couple of times. They were net pens up past deep cove near wigwam. They were hatched at the cap hatchery, they took some of them up there and raised them in pens. They didnt take them to the power station, I think they just went there when adults as it was the closest running fresh water. The year I was there there were bloat problems, a lot of them were dying, so they just opened the pens up and let them go hoping for the best. I'm not sure if that's why they stopped it, or if they just decided budgets should go to enhancing actual runs. There isn't any ecological reason to raise chinook in Indian arm, there is no where for them to spawn . There was an assessment to put a hatchery on the Indian for coho, steelhead pink and chum but it was scrapped as there wasn't a suitable source of groundwater for the hatchery. The river has a falls 10 miles up that isn't passable, so the habitat is limited, but historically it had pretty big odd year pink runs and some coho and chum.
 
The habitat below the falls is a lot better than the **** poor habitat on the Cap. There is still a very small component left of the springs left on the Indian itself, but those numbers are maybe a few dozen now. As for nowhere to spawn I don't quite understand that?
Any option is better than the Cap, the net pen springs also provided a decent winter and spring fishery.
 
The Indian river would require permission from the Squamish band, I friend takes eggs from it and there is alot of red tape just to do that. Just for eggs he has employee 2 FN. This would mean that a federal facility would not work very well.
 
I'm not a 100% sure as it may have been closer to 25 years ago when the program was in full swing. I believe the juvenile smolts were raised in net pens in one of the bays in Indian Arm. When the smolts became large enough to be released I think they moved them to where the discharge tubes from the buntzen powerhouse enter the ocean. I think they kept them in the vicinity of the powerhouse water tunnels long enough to imprint on that location as there home river. Once imprinted they were released to roam the ocean like any other salmon. In four years the adult springs returned to the Buntzen powerhouse discharge tubes as that was there home river to them. Anglers got to fish for them from July right till the fall because the springs had no real river to ascend. Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. They couldn't spawn in the discharge tubes so they were available to fish all summer long. I believe they used the Quinsam strain of red springs that returned early and reached large sizes. It was a very nice fishery while it lasted.[/QUOTE

If you guys want to start a thread on this..I'm looking into the history of this and if it could possible be done again... Just need to gather some info on the project them I can move forward..

thanks
 
The Indian river would require permission from the Squamish band, I friend takes eggs from it and there is alot of red tape just to do that. Just for eggs he has employee 2 FN. This would mean that a federal facility would not work very well.


if it was laid out to the fn as a prosperity, they would be all in. and the feds also.. they love hand in hand kinda stuff, makes them look and feel good.
 
Apparently there was a federal DFO run hatchery on the Indian River briefly in 79-80. Closed for lack of funding.
 
They are required to show up for egg takes on the Indian. They do show but disappear later in the day. Few years back they where found near by drunk. They are required to show at a local fish fence. Paid.... Nobody came for the first 3 months.

I think the feds would be wasting there time. Just based on past performance from the squamish band
 
Can someone please give me a sense for what the winds are like getting to Tunstall? I'm assuming going around south end of Bowen... but also very curious if anyone goes around Hood Pt to get there. Thx!
 
Can someone please give me a sense for what the winds are like getting to Tunstall? I'm assuming going around south end of Bowen... but also very curious if anyone goes around Hood Pt to get there. Thx!
In these conditions Hood Pt. will be very rough. I transit that area a lot and an outflow such as we have had the last few days (and particularly the NNE) makes it a nasty body of water.
 
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