Seymour River Hatchery

Project Description

The project is located in North Vancouver, on the Seymour River, in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, immediately below the Seymour Falls Dam.

The project produces coho, chum, pink, chinook, and steelhead on site. The facilities include a hatchery building, aeration tower, water distribution system, nine rearing ponds, twelve Capilano troughs, three circular tubs, one steelhead adult holding pond, a concrete raceway, and three bulk incubators. A new building completed in 1992 houses an office, wet lab, incubation rooms, and a large education centre.

Expansions of this project have included an increased emphasis on education and volunteer components, and habitat restoration and planning. Increased participation in habitat restoration led to the project working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Metro Vancouver to utilize this habitat in 1996.

Current Project Objectives are to:

• Enhance coho, chum, pink, chinook, and steelhead (summer and winter run);
• Assist other hatchery and community-based programs;
• Restore salmon habitat in the Seymour watershed;
• Provide volunteer opportunities to the community
• Promote a stewardship ethic within the community;
• Provide public education; and
• Establish monitoring programs for adult and juvenile coho salmon and steelhead

Photos of the Seymour Hatchery

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Aerial photo of the Seymour River Hatchery showing main hatchery building and aeration tower.	The hatchery is located in the picturesque Seymour Valley. Mt. Coliseum and Mt. Burwell in the background.

Close-up of People

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Brian Smith, manager, holding a Seymour River coho	Marc Guimond, assistant manager, Working on the ocean	Matt Casselman, volunteer coordinator, holding a Seymour River coho.

Additional Photos

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Adult steelhead holding in the hatchery pool
A black bear family	Aerial view of a habitat project
View of the Seymour River near the hatchery	BCIT students help with a seine at the hatchery pool

Skill Testing Questions/Answers

1. What year was the Seymour Salmonid Society founded?
   1987
2. On average, how many fish does the hatchery release each year?
   750,000
3.  What is the only species of Pacific salmon NOT to return to the Seymour?
   Sockeye salmon