Robertson Creek Hatchery Upgrade

Project Highlights

Robertson Creek Hatchery, located near Port Alberni, British Columbia, is the largest chinook salmon hatchery in the Pacific Region.  The hatchery produces 8 million chinook smolts, 1 million coho smolts, and 180,000 steelhead smolts each year.  The resulting yearly adult salmon returning population is 150,000 chinook, 100,000 coho and 10,000 steelhead.

Hatchery Upgrades

Kerr Wood Leidal was retained by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to complete civil and mechanical engineering upgrades to the hatchery.  The $1.9 million upgrade program included:

• modified lake inlet
• new water supply pipeline, doubling the available flow to the hatchery
• standby diesel power generation facility
• new incubation facility
• new tub rearing facility, and
• new lunch room, locker room, and administration building.

Construction was scheduled around hatchery operations to minimize disruptions.