Fish are central to Tla’amin life, food, culture, and stewardship.
Fisheries
Through ʔaʔǰɩnxʷegəs (Tla’amin Treaty), Tla’amin Nation has a treaty right to harvest fish and aquatic plants for domestic purposes within Tla’amin Fishing Areas. Harvesting is guided by harvest documents issued by federal and provincial ministers.
Tla’amin Nation also has law-making authority for the internal regulation of Tla’amin fisheries. This includes who can take part in the harvest and how the harvest is shared. Canada and British Columbia continue to have roles in fish, aquatic plant, and fish habitat management and conservation.
Tla’amin fisheries work includes food, social, and ceremonial harvesting, salmon, groundfish, herring, prawn, crab, sea urchin, sea cucumber, shellfish, aquatic plants, commercial fishing, habitat protection, and fisheries planning. The Treaty also sets out annual allocations for many species and a process to address species that are not yet allocated.
Tla’amin works with Canada through a Joint Fisheries Committee to support cooperative planning for Tla’amin fishing, fisheries management, and other fisheries matters. This work supports Tla’amin rights, conservation, food security, and the continued relationship between Tla’amin people and the waters of ʔəms giǰɛ.
Hatchery
The Tla’amin Hatchery has been running since 1977, one of the longest standing facilities in the province.
The Hatchery focuses on Salmon Enhancement, Stewardship & Production. Focusing on Chum, Coho, Pink and Chinook salmon. The Hatchery has approximately 4 acres of land that has rearing ponds, holding tanks, incubators and a community smoke house on site. The Hatchery has its own worksite where a fish counting weir is utilized for broodstock collection. Broodstock is collected for each species. This work is being done to seed traditional river systems to create sustainability for our community. The higher the escapement in the river systems, creates more salmon in the freezer for community members.
The Hatchery has carried out several habitat initiatives over the years, such as development of groundwater channels to provide additional habitat for overwintering areas for juvenile fry and spawning channels.
Beyond fish husbandry, the facility provides food fish to community members and for events. The Hatchery has hosted a Cross-Cultural Educational event for over 25 years. Many community members come together to make this event educational and enjoyable for all. In the first week of November when the rain arrives and the salmon return in good numbers, we provide a 5-day open house to our local school district. We have children from kindergarten to grade 12 high school students attending. The hatchery also provides guided tours to our local VIU college and international students.
In addition, the Hatchery supports “Stream to Sea, Salmon in the Classroom” projects where each classroom has a fish tank in class to watch the development stages of salmon fry growth. The classes then bring the fish back and release them to the stream of origin. This supports approximately 200 elementary school kids’ education. In addition to providing education on salmon, Tla’amin Hatchery provided cultural education station to learn about Tla’amin Nation.
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 8:00am – 4:00pm
Hatchery Manager: Lee George
lee.george@tn-bc.ca
Location: 5073 BC-101, Powell River, BC V8A 0B7