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Harrison
BC fishtory
Harrison Chinook: These fish are fall chinook, migrating into the
Fraser in September and spawning mainly in late October to early November.
They are mostly 3 and 4 years old when they return to spawn. Returns to the
Harrison river are in the order of 100,000 annually. Females average 4500 eggs
per fish. They appear to be 98% white-fleshed on the spawning ground, but a
much higher percent are pink - fleshed in the ocean. These fish average 20lbs.
The largest that we have seen is a 54 pound male. Fry emerge and migrate
downstream to the Fraser estuary in April and May.
Chehalis hatchery produces around 2 million Harrison chinook annually.
These hatchery fish supplement the wild run, acting as a buffer when there is
poor natural survival. They provide 10 - 20% of the run.
Tagging has shown that most Harrison chinook are caught in Canadian
waters. A lot are taken in Georgia Straight.
Chehalis Summer Chinook. The fish were transplanted
to the Chehalis river from northern upper Fraser river stocks in the late
80's. These fish were to reestablish a spring-summer chinook run that used to
be in the Chehalis in the 50's and 60's. This stock provides a very popular
summer sport fishery, with the fish arriving in late June early July and not
spawning until early September. The fish are red fleshed and usually in the 12
- 20 pound range. Returns are usually in the order of 500 - 2000. Female
average around 5000 eggs per fish.
We are currently trying to produce 300,000 fry annually to maintain this
run.
Chehalis Summer Steelhead. These fish were transplanted to
the Chehalis river from the Coquihalla river in the mid 80's. Returns are in
the order of 500 - 1000 fish per year. These fish enter the Chehalis in June
and July. They are generally in the 5 - 12 pound range. This program is
carried out in cooperation with the Provincial Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery.
FVTH incubates the eggs and early fry. Chehalis hatchery rears the fry from 3
grams in August to 60 - 80 grams at release the following May. The current
target is to release 25,000 smolts annually into the Chehalis river.
Larry Kahl The Chehalis River Hatchery.
Picture Gone Fish'n' -- Maple Ridge.
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