They also sign a Incremental Fisheries Reconciliation Agreement
Joanne Thompson, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries in partnership with Gitanyow Nation announced some days ago the award of a general construction contract valued at over USD 5.39 million to Progressive Ventures Construction, marking the next phase of development for the Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery. The hatchery will raise Kitwanga River sockeye salmon, a stock of significant conservation concern that is of profound cultural importance to the Gitanyow Nation and an important component of the broader Skeena River sockeye salmon population.
The facility will be located on the Kitwanga River, a tributary of the Skeena River in northwestern portion of the province. It will be built by the Government of Canada and operated in partnership with the Gitanyow First Nation.
The project will consist of a hatchery building, a rearing tank farm, aeration tower and supporting infrastructure, including underground water supplies and roadways. A sustainable, energy-efficient fish culture system will allow for the treatment and reuse of some of the water used during the incubation stage.
“The new Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery will raise 300,000 young sockeye a year for the Kitwanga River, and Gitanyow Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are building it together to bring that run back. Community hatcheries across British Columbia pull volunteers, Indigenous partners and government together to protect and rebuild salmon, and they keep communities connected to the fish that sustain them. Wilp’Ho Dix will carry that important work forward for generations,” underlined Thompson.
Pacific salmon produced from hatcheries in British Columbia contribute over USD 71.84 million to annual provincial GDP and support over 1,500 full-time equivalent jobs in fishery-related industries.
Long-Term Sustainability
Beyond supporting recovery of Pacific salmon stocks of conservation concern, community-run hatcheries provide hands-on learning opportunities, reinforce cultural connections, and contribute towards achieving long-term sustainability of Pacific salmon populations for ecological, cultural, social, and economic benefits. By investing in the Gitanyow hatchery, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be working with Gitanyow Nation to safeguard salmon while supporting the community’s ongoing connection to this iconic species.
“Thirty years ago, Chief Biiyosxw of Wilp Gwaas Hla’am was raising salmon in a small wooden shed beside the creek because we understood then, as we do today, that we have a responsibility to care for the salmon and the waters that sustain them. To see Wilp’Ho Dix now taking shape at the entrance to Gitanyow Village is incredibly meaningful. This new hatchery builds on generations of Gitanyow knowledge, stewardship and determination, and will help ensure that Kitwanga sockeye are here for generations to come,” commented Joel Starlund/Sk’a’nism Tsa ‘Win’Giit, Executive Director of Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs Office.
10-year agreement
A few days after the agreement, the Government of Canada, represented by the Minister of Fisheries, joined again, representatives from the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs to sign a 10-year Incremental Fisheries Reconciliation Agreement at the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ Office and Sindihl House of Learning in Gitanyow, in northwestern British Columbia.
The agreement will strengthen the Gitanyow Fisheries Authority’s capacity to deliver fisheries stewardship initiatives, including the Kitwanga Sockeye Recovery Program. It will also support participation in commercial fishing opportunities, collaborative approaches to the management of Gitanyow fisheries, and ongoing salmon conservation and recovery efforts.
The agreement is an important step forward in Nation-to-Nation reconciliation. It builds on the longstanding relationship between Canada and Gitanyow Nation to support healthy, sustainable salmon populations. It also recognizes the importance of information-sharing and coordination among multiple partners for effective salmon stewardship at the watershed level.
