Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Salmon Poaching on Scott Creek

(Photo: HSWS)

On Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 members of Hoy/Scott Watershed Society were out scouting salmon, and came across this carcass near Dewdney Trunk Road at Scott Creek in Coquitlam.

It was very fresh, so likely the salmon was filleted within the past 24 hours.

It's ILLEGAL to fish in local streams, which also includes the removal of carcasses (dead fish). Dead or alive, it is illegal to take fish. If you want to fish, you must have a license to fish, and you must know where it's okay to fish.

If you see people fishing at local streams in any way – with a line, net, or anything else, please contact "Report All Poachers and Polluters" (RAPP) and fill out this form. Or call 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 on the TELUS Mobility Network.

Or fisheries violations, contact Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) at 1-800-465-4336. You can also contact your local RCMP detachment or municipal police.

2023 AGM and Elections Held

Meet our executive team for the next year! Left to right: Kim Mayes, Director; Robbin Whachell, Director; Tyler Storgaard, Vice President; Matthew Watts, Director; Sandra Uno, Treasurer; and Kyle Uno, President. (Missing: Anne Woosnam, Secretary)

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society held an annual general meeting on Sept. 27, 2023, at the Coquitlam library and voted in the following new directors who were re-appointed to the executive:

Director - Kim Mayes

Director - Matthew Watts

Director - Robbin Whachell

The three join the existing executive:

President - Kyle Uno

Vice President - Tyler Storgaard

Treasurer - Sandra Uno

Secretary - Anne Woosnam

The Society would like to thank Rodney Lee who stepped down after years of supporting the executive in a variety of positions. He will remain an active member.

Through stewardship, community outreach, education and advocacy, we are dedicated to protecting the Hoy/Scott Watershed.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a year-round salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

President Kyle Uno (left) gives an annual report, as treasurer Sandra Uno (center) takes minutes in the absence of Anne Woosnam. Director Kim Mayes looks on.


Stream Monitoring Data Loggers Deployed at Hoy Creek

Nikki holds the conductivity logger which has been monitoring Hoy Creek.

On August 9, members of Hoy/Scott Watershed Society met with Nikki Kroetsch, PSEC Community Engagement Coordinator (Ecosystems Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada) to learn how to download data from a conductivity logger placed in Hoy Creek near the hatchery. This logger has been capturing data for over a year and monitors conductivity, temperature, and water depth. Conductivity is the measure of water's ability to conduct electrical current and is affected by the presence of pollutants and salts.

Finding the GPS location.

Time was also spent re-deploying two temperature data loggers; one upstream (north) and one downstream (south) of the hatchery in Coquitlam. They were redeployed as both initial ones were lost during the last major weather events featuring atmospheric rivers.

A temperature data logger ready for deployment upstream from the hatchery.

Society members will download information from the loggers several times a year.

Detailed pictures were taken of each site and GPS coordinates were recorded.

Learn more about the DFO PSEC Community Stream Monitoring (CoSMo)

View more photos on our Facebook page.

Over 10,000 Coho Fry Marked at Hoy Creek Hatchery

Fisheries and Oceans Canada supported Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam for our annual fin clip on June 20. The coho salmon are approximately 3 months old.

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 retention of the coho.

  • The procedure also allows for a manual fish count, whereas previously only weight sample counts took place.

The operation was overseen by DFO fisheries community advisor, Isaac Nelson and Hoy Creek Hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard. Volunteers of the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society assisted.

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.

The fish will soon be transferred from the hatchery Capilano trough room and will live in the rearing pond until Salmon Leave Home in May 2023. Fish from this brood could then return in about 2.5–3 years.

Thanks to all those who helped out this year!

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society (HSWS) is a volunteer-run non-profit society that operates a small salmon hatchery beside Hoy Creek and conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and with technical expertise from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The group stewards the Hoy and Scott Watersheds, promoting public awareness and education, and is involved in watershed habitat restoration and preservation. 

2019 is the International Year of the Salmon

internationial year of the salmonn logo.png

The International Year of the Salmon is a five-year outreach and research initiative of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) and the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), with a focal year in 2019. It aims to raise public awareness, gather stakeholders, stimulate science, and inspire action to protect salmon. The endeavour covers several dimensions, including understanding the present status of salmon, the natural and human factors that affect them, and the ways in which communities can contribute to sustaining salmon. It also strives to improve and develop technologies and data systems, allowing us to better collect and share information that can help manage salmon populations and their environments responsibly.

Throughout the year, the Government of Canada will participate in events, and take steps to protect salmon populations. Together with leading conservation organisations, academia, Indigenous peoples, other countries, and scientists from around the world, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is pleased to take part in protecting wild salmon for future generations.

Follow the conversation on social media at #YearoftheSalmon and visit International Year of the Salmon.

(The above information was taken from the Department of Fisheries)

Facebook page: International Year of the Salmon - North Pacific

Vancity supports the 25th Salmon Come Home event in Coquitlam

Vancity manager Omar (left) presents a $500 cheque to HSWS secretary Emily (center with daughter Joan) and HSWS president Robbin (right) for Salmon Come Home. 

Vancity manager Omar (left) presents a $500 cheque to HSWS secretary Emily (center with daughter Joan) and HSWS president Robbin (right) for Salmon Come Home. 

A huge thank you to Vancity Credit Union, Pinetree branch in Coquitlam, for their continued support of the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, as earlier this month they donated $500.00 toward Salmon Come Home, one of the City of Coquitlam's signature events held this year on Sunday, October 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hoy Creek Hatchery.

2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the community event which is a collaboration between the Municipality and the Society. 

"As a non-profit group, we really appreciate and encourage local business support with any or all of our initiatives," said Robbin Whachell, President, Hoy-Scott Watershed Society. "Thank you Vancity for helping us highlight the importance of our environment and the wonder of the salmon."

The salmon is a unique creature in that it returns to the exact stream that is was born to spawn and die.  Peak viewing of salmon spawning in Hoy Creek is between mid-October and December. 

Salmon Come Home attracts thousands of people who come out to celebrate the salmon return and learn about the work of the Society, as well as other local environmental groups.  Participating thisyear is the following:

Articipation,
BC Hydro Power Smart Outreach,
Burke Mountain Naturalists,
City of Coquitlam - Bad Seed/Urban Forestry,
City of Coquitlam - Solid Waste and Recycling,
City of Coquitlam - Urban Wildlife,
City of Coquitlam - Water Conservation,
Coquitlam Riverwatch,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada,
Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC,
Friends of DeBoville Slough,
Hoy/Scott Watershed Society,
Hyde Creek Watershed Society,
Kintec,
Maple Creek Watershed Streamkeepers ,
MetroVancouver Regional Parks,
Port Moody Ecological Society,
Vancity Pinetree Branch,
Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and
Wild Salmon Creative Café.

The Hoy Creek Hatchery is in Hoy Creek Linear Park, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex (Pinetree and Guildford Way), and is a seven-minute walk from the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station.

Visitors can walk in from a variety of locations: from Princess Crescent, from behind Douglas College; from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree), from Walton Avenue or behind Walton Elementary, or from the foot of Lasalle Place.

Free parking is available at Coquitlam City Hall, Pinetree Community Centre and Douglas College.