Coho salmon

2023/24 Surplus Coho Salmon Released

HSWS volunteer, Matt, carries a bucket of Coho fry to release in a nearby stream.

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society's annual aquaculture license with federal fisheries allows us to incubate up to 18,500 eggs but only release 5,000 1-year-old Coho smolts each year.

After a prolonged warm dry period in July, consistent rains with cooler temperatures provided the perfect opportunity on July 30 for us to release our fed coho fry to Hoy and Scott Creeks. We use an insulated tub with supplied oxygen for transporting our fish, and with the help of volunteers, the fish are weighed out and bucketed to each location.

In total ~6,700 Coho were release to various sites in the watershed where optimum conditions provide the ability for rearing. These fish were from our 2023/24 brood year and will head to the ocean in spring 2025.

Huge thanks to all our volunteers who continue to support our efforts for healthier watersheds and healthy salmon!

Over 12,000 Coho Fry Clipped at Hoy Creek Hatchery

Thank you to all of our volunteers who came out on June 21 to take part in our annual coho fry fin clipping exercise. We clipped 12,400 coho fry! The salmon are approximately 3 months old.

The exercise was supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and held in front of Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam .

The adipose fin is removed and is a soft, fleshy fin found on the top of the salmon, on the back behind the dorsal fin and just forward of the caudal fin. This marking of our coho supports:

Stock assessment for when salmon return to spawn, the clipped fins allow hatcheries and stream keepers to monitor their return. Selective fisheries - in certain regions and sub-areas, a marked fishery is permitted for the retention of the coho. The procedure also allows for a manual fish count, whereas previously only weight sample counts took place.

First, the fish are anesthetized in small batches. Once in the solution, they become sleepy within minutes. The volunteers stand ready around a table equipped with a trough with flowing water and beds of water for the fish to lay in. Volunteers work quickly and very carefully to clip fins with disinfected surgical scissors before they wake up, which is within about a minute. Fish are put into the outside trough and end up in the bucket at the end of the table. They are returned to the hatchery to recover.

A portion of the fish will be ponded at various creek locations in Coquitlam and the remaining will soon be transferred from the hatchery Capilano trough room to the outdoor rearing pond until Salmon Leave Home in May 2025. Fish from this brood could then return in about 1.5–2.5 years.

Coho Released on May 18

With optimal weather conditions and no fanfare, the Coho salmon housed in the Hoy Creek Hatchery rearing pond were released on May 18.

In 2024 the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society shifted focus of the public release to Chum salmon, because our chum salmon, unlike Coho, do not reside in fresh water for an extended period.

Volunteers lifted the slats to the rearing pond outflow and the Coho were on their way.

Once released to the creek, the Chum begin their journey to the ocean: Hoy Creek → Scott Creek → Coquitlam River → Fraser River → Strait of Georgia into the Pacific Ocean.

The rearing pond will next be cleaned, and prepared for the incoming Coho fry in the hatchery’s Capilano trough room.

Chum Arrive for Salmon Come Home

Left to right: Kyle Uno, President, HSWS; Councilor John Peters, KFN; and Rodney Lee, DFO. (Photo: HSWS)

Held in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, the Salmon Come Home festival returned to its traditional layout and format around the Hoy Creek Hatchery on Oct. 22. The weather was mild and enjoyable as the rains held off.

The event celebrates the return of the salmon and the chum had only just been spotted in the stream a few days prior.

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society (HSWS) would like to thank Kwikwetlem First Nation councilor, John Peters who provided a welcome to open the festivities, along with the president of the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society, Kyle Uno.

Entertainer, Angela Brown in hat and rainbow cape is an annual favourite with her stories and costume parade. (Photo: HSWS)

The event was very well attended by other environmental groups and residents enjoyed educational displays, stories and a dress-up parade with Angela Brown and her nylon zoo, musical entertainment by Ruel Morales and Elaina Buenaventura, carvings by Indigenous storyteller, Simon Winadzi Jamesler and Creative Art Cart programs by J Peachy Gallery and crew from Red Fox Society.

A big highlight was seeing live salmon for brief seconds during a talk provided by DFO community advisor, Isaac Nelson, assisted by hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard.

Thanks to Jay Peachy and Friends who put on a pancake breakfast with proceeds supporting the Society.

Thanks also to Radio-Canada / CBC French who came out and featured the event in their newscast that evening.

A great time was had by all!

Children of all ages marvel at the live Coho salmon held by hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard during a talk by DFO. (Photo: HSWS)

Salmon Released by the Public at Hoy Creek Hatchery

A girl releases a Coho smolt into Hoy Creek at Salmon Leave Home at Hoy Creek Hatchery. (HSWS Photo)

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society (HSWS) held its annual Salmon Leave Home event on May 14, and was pleased to return to a public release of the approximately 18-month-old Coho smolts that have been living in the outdoor rearing pond since last May. This was the first time since 2019 that the public was able to assist with the salmon release, due to the pandemic.

The Society moved the event time to the afternoon to give families time to celebrate Mom (it was Mother’s Day). Weather conditions were hot with a high of 32C, but despite that, a steady stream of people came through the Hoy Creek Hatchery area. To the delight of many, wild Coho fry were visible from the footbridge.

The community had the opportunity to carry a bucket of Coho smolts to Hoy Creek for release; take a peek at the six-month-old Coho fry in the hatchery’s Capilano trough room; meet the volunteers and learn about the Society; make a Mother's Day greeting card using leaves; play the Plinko game and get salmon past predators to saltwater safety; sign a Farewell to the Coho Grads of 2023 card; sign a pledge to protect the salmon; and explore Hoy Creek Linear Park.

After a Land Acknowledgement by HSWS president, Kyle Uno, the MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, Fin Donnelly provided a few words before Kyle presented Keith Kozak, the Society’s first president, with a certificate of appreciation and a gift. Keith spoke about the early years of getting the Society up and running.

The event was supported by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with Isaac Nelson overseeing the fish release.

The Society would like to thank all its volunteers for the time spent supporting the event, and the community who came out to help. A special thank you to the event sponsor, the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program!

Salmon Leave Home 2023 'unofficial' photo: Thanks to our HSWS volunteers who were manning our areas of the event so that some of us could gather for a group photo with our special guests.

Back row, left to right: Tyler Storgaard, Isaac Nelson (DFO), Hannah Tonsaker; Matthew Watts; Henrietta Hamming (wife of the late Chris Hamming, HSWS founder); Robbin Whachell; Keith Kozak (founding member/HSWS first president); and Rodney Lee.

Front row, Fin Donnelly, MLA; and Kyle Uno, current HSWS president.