Who We Are – Nicomekl Hatchery

Welcome to the Nicomekl Hatchery

Founded in 1989 by Dave Evans, an avid outdoorsman, “Fish for your Future”, as the Nicomekl Enhancement Society (NES) was originally called, worked hard with the help of the community and released 125,000 salmon that first year. Following a name change and incorporation under the BC Society Act the Nicomekl Enhancement Society was born in 1991.

After a few location changes, the NES settled on its current location with the help of Bruce Coulter who deeded us the land in 1994. Through much hard work, as well as much help from our friends, we continue to restore the Nicomekl River. There is still much to be done, and you can be a part.

The NES strives to not only raise and release salmon, but to also improve their habitat, and to increase public awareness as well as involvement. As such we have a variety of ways to get involved:

Broodstock capture
Juvenile salmon rearing and release
Habitat restoration, both in the river and along its banks
Public Events and Shows
Construction and Design
Government Committees and Hearings
Tours and Information Sessions

Take a virtual tour through our hatchery and learn how it’s grown over the years.

Welcome to the NES Salmon HatcheryFront entrance signage

Main hatchery buildingMain hatchery building housing the egg room, cap troughs & tubs

Open side of hatchery buildingOpen side of hatchery building

Water towerThe water tower where we cycle it through plastic balls to add oxygen for salmon survival

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Egg roomEgg room where it takes approximately 100 days to go from egg to alevins

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Cap troughs for alvinsCap Troughs where we continually feed the alevins till they are large enough to go into the tubs

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IMG_2877The new Egg Room thanks to $21,000 grant from Pacific Salmon Foundation

Broodstock tubsTubs where we hold the broodstock before taking the eggs & milk and then use them in the early spring to hold the fry before returning them back into the rivers around Langley.

Holding binsThe holding bins for our rock and gravel

Office and Meeting roomThe office and meeting room built in 2000

WorkshopWorkshop

Find more of our photos in our gallery.

Everyone Welcome

Due to COVID-19 we are unable at this time to welcome everyone to our hatchery. We are now open to our volunteers from 8:00-12:00pm as work parties are required. Number of members is limited at each work party.

The Nicomekl River

The Nicomekl River Watershed runs from Aldergrove, through Langley and Cloverdale, to South Surrey finally exiting at Blackie Spit at Crescent beach.

All along its length numerous smaller creeks flow into the Nicomekl; from Anderson, Murray and Logan in Langley, to McClellan and Amstrong in Cloverdale and Chantrell and Elgin in South Surrey. These tributaries, and many others, are just as important as the Nicomekl itself, needing their own caretakers, allowing people to contribute close to home.