Salmon Release Project at Willingdon Beach
News Release April 24/09
As many of you know, CUPE has been working on salmon enhancement at Willingdon beach for over 10 years. We have recently placed over 70,000 Chum salmon frey in the trough at Willingdon beach in the creek (beside Popeye).
When released they will instinctually head straight down the creek towards the ocean. Everyone is welcome to take part in the feeding. Bring your kids, grandkids …or brothers and sisters along to take part in the fun! This is not only about the releasing of more fish…….(which we have released over 750,000 to date)….but its an opportunity to raise awareness in people both young and old, of the importance of protecting this resource and their habitat for generations to come. The establishment of our Millennium Park will go a long way in this regard. If you are interested in cooking up breakfast, lunch or dinner for 70,000, request a container of feed from the campsite caretakers and feed away .The regular feedings are covered so there is no commitment ……so its anytime, once. Every gram of weight that we can add to these fish will only increase their chances of survival.
Later on in May, I will extend an invitation to help feed the Chinook that will be placed in our net pen off of the fishing pier. This will be the fourth year of our terminal fishery. I am hopeful for our first returns. For those who aren’t aware, CUPE and the Salmon Society have teamed up on this project which entails putting Chinook salmon frey in a net pen off of the fishing pier at Willingdon Beach .They get fattened up while they imprint on the fresh water coming down those creeks for 10 days , and then they are released …..Hopefully to sense their way back to that specific fresh water ,4 years later ,as Tyee’s(30lbs or more) ‘Millennium Tyee’s’’!!!! The concept is for them to come ‘’home’’ to that fresh water and will mill around for several weeks to a month. They’ll realize that the creek is too small for spawning and will then make their way towards either Sliammon or Lang Creek(which is actually where we harvested their eggs from) to complete their mission. This milling around will eventually cause a hot spot for fishing in the summer and the spin off for local business will be huge. Ask any fisherman about the late season Chinook fishing off of Lang Creek in the Black Point area. Or the money they spent on gas and tackle! A study was done that found that fish caught by sports fisherman can be worth up to $200.00 per pound (in the case of my boat….substantially more)as opposed to a few dollars per pound for fish commercially caught.
Picture if you will , fishermen, eco tourists, artisans from all over the world ,staying in our top notch campsite, spending money in our local business establishments…….in the summer in the hopes of slaying a mighty ‘’Millennium Tyee’’ while seeing PR’S many sights ,and in the fall , watching our Chum and the odd Coho salmon coming back, right in front of their campsites…to start the cycle of life once again. Thank you for your support.
Paul Nassichuk
Parks Foreman
Tel: 604-
Cell: 604-
Fax: 604-
email: pnassichuk@cdpr.bc.ca
website: www.district.powellriver.bc.ca
