Salmonid Enhancement Group/Hatchery

Since 1987, under the stewardship of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Cougar Creek Salmonid Enhancement Group has undertaken numerous fish-friendly projects: planting, in-stream habitat enhancement, storm drain marking, and involvement with Scouts, Guides and school children.

Even more important than all the above, their primary focus has been the operation of a small, spring-fed hatchery near the creek. Eggs are collected, fertilized, and incubated in the hatchery. Each spring, volunteers release 10,000 or more fry in several locations along the length of the creek, from the ponds in Surrey downstream to Westview Drive in North Delta. [For more geographical detail, see About Cougar Creek. For the people involved, see About us/Contacts.]

Hatchery Project

The hatchery project began with the construction of an incubation box within the Cougar Creek Ravine. The incubation box was designed to hold approximately 25,000 salmon eggs under care of members of the enhancement group.

Egg Collection

The eggs for incubation were originally collected by group members from wild Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) stock captured (with nets and under the direction of DFO) within the Salmon River System in Langley, BC. For the past several years, volunteers have collected salmon eggs at the DFO Inch Creek Hatchery in Mission.

The egg collection process involves stripping eggs and milt (sperm) from the adult salmon, and placing the eggs and milt into separate plastic bags for transportation to the Cougar Creek incubation facility. The eggs and milt are then combined and placed in trays within the incubation box.

Coho life stages

The Coho life stages following fertilization are:

egg
alevin (with egg sac)
fry (when we release them) and
smolt (more than 1 year in fresh water) prior to venturing out to sea to spend half their life growing to adult size before returning to spawn and die in their natal stream (at 3 years old).

Release of fry

Each year the surviving fry (approximately 8,000 to 13,000) are released within all reaches of Cougar Creek by group members and youth groups (i.e. Scouts, school groups, etc.).

Cougar Creek Salmonid Enhancement Group has on occasion (i.e. during the past 10 years) released Coho smolts and Chum salmon (O. keta) into the upper reaches of Cougar Creek under the supervision of DFO.

2005 was a disappointing year for the Salmonid Enhancement Group. Torrential rainfall, piped directly into the creek via municipal storm drains, resulted in the toppling of several mature trees downstream from the hatchery. The sodden soil simply couldn't support the weight of those trees. The fallen trees in turned caused the sediment-laden runoff to back up, overflowing the hatchery and suffocating most of the eggs. As a result, the hatchery produced only about 100 coho fry for release, as compared with the usual 10,000 or more.

Cougar Canyon Elementary School students release chum fry in Cougar Creek, April 4, 2008

This tragedy highlights the pressing need for better at-source management of stormwater runoff, so that it filters into the creek gradually as nature designed, rather than in a polluted and destructive flood as we humans have designed. Our Cougar Canyon Elementary School Rain Garden Project is intended as a small step in the right direction for stormwater management.

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