Hatchery

List of 3 news stories.

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  Annual Coho Release

  6/14/2024
  Nearly 10,000 salmon fry were released into the wild this month by students who raised them in the Mark Hobson Hatchery – a facility unique to Shawnigan among schools in British Columbia.

   

  The students in Science 9 and Environmental Science 11 and 12 have been nurturing the fish since November, when they caught fish in Shawnigan Creek to use as broodstock, then harvested eggs from the females and fertilized them with milt (semen) from the males. The eggs hatched into alevin – a phase where they are still carrying yolk – then grew into fry in March. Transferred into larger tanks at that point, they were fed and cared for over the following months until they were ready for release into Hartl and Shawnigan creeks.

   

  According to Hatchery Lead and Experiential Learning Instructor Mr. Louis Chancellor, the number of fish released this year was nearly double the amount released last year, thanks in part to some changes and improvements made to the system. He says it should be even better next year.

   
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  Hatchery Helps Make a Difference

  12/1/2023
  In addition to teaching students at Shawnigan about conservation, environmental stewardship, the salmon life cycle, and the importance of salmon to our part of the world, the School’s Mark Hobson Hatchery is contributing to the growth of the salmon run in Shawnigan Creek.

   

  This year marked the fourth year in a row that the Mill Bay and District Conservation Society has transported a record number of fish past the falls so they can spawn in the upper reaches of the creek. The society moved 985 coho salmon this year, surpassing expectations in a year when other streams on southern Vancouver Island saw low returns. Fish return to spawn every three years, so it is important to note that three years ago, 404 fish returned. Three years before that, the number was around 200, and three years before that, just five fish came back to spawn in Shawnigan Creek.

   

  Some of the fish that came back to spawn in Shawnigan Creek this year would have been released from the School’s hatchery three years ago.

   
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  Hatchery Experience Is a Net Win for Students

  11/9/2023
  Shawnigan students have been doing their part recently to ensure the survival of another generation of coho salmon with their work in the School’s own Mark Hobson Hatchery.

   

  After first catching mature fish for broodstock after they returned to spawn in Shawnigan Creek, students — and some adventurous staff members — had the opportunity to take eggs and milt (sperm) from the fish, beginning the process that will eventually lead to the release of young fish to begin the cycle once again.
  
  
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