Even as thousands of newly introduced smolts swim through Cheakamus River system, concerns about the ecosystem's recovery continue to mount.
The steelhead smolts were released last Friday (May 11) at the Tenderfoot Trout Hatchery north of 樱桃视频by Environment Minister Barry Penner. The release was the second of three scheduled for this year, with a total of 20,000 hatchery-reared fish being introduced into the system in 2007, to complement wild fish stocks that were nearly destroyed following a CN train derailment in August 2005.
"It's encouraging to see that wild steelhead are already back in the river, but we also want to lend a helping hand to the recovery effort by releasing these additional steelhead smolts," Penner said in a prepared statement.
"The steelhead are a tremendously valuable resource for First Nations, recreational anglers and the guiding community," added MLA Joan McIntyre who was also at the event.
However some environmental advocates, while supportive of increasing the fish stocks, are questioning the motives behind the steelhead release.
"These would be the hatchery steelhead that Environment Minister Barry Penner originally absolutely denied were needed after the CN spill and said the run would be better off without their existence, before science and the public shamed him into allowing the temporary hatchery," said Doug Morrison, a member of the Cheakamus Ecosystem Recovery Stakeholder Team (CERST).
