Thousands of endangered chinook salmon were released into the Nicomekl River in Langley on Sunday, April 21, during Lafarge Family Day at the at the Nicomekl Enhancement Society (NES) hatchery.
It was the first time Walnut Grove’s Rachel Brown, 3, and parents Jason and Olivia, had taken part in a salmon release, filling up a bucket with tiny chinook fry before walking down to the nearby waterway to pour them into a chute.
“It’s really great,” Jason commented.
“Just to learn about salmon and the waterways here, it’s really cool.”
Hatchery president Nigel Easton explained the event, which included live music, games, kids’ activities, lunch and refreshments, was thanks to a “wonderful agreement” with Lafarge Canada.
“They are here with their family of staff to help release approximately 30,000 endangered chinook salmon back into the Nicomekl River,” Easton said.
Lincoln Kyne, Lafarge senior vice president, British Columbia & United States, Pacific Northwest called it a “a super exciting day for us.”
Kyne explained it was year two of five that the company has committed to sponsoring the NES.
“Today’s a great day where our employees can come out, share in the benefits of the great work that they do, and release some fish back into their natural habitat,” Kyne told the Langley Advance Times.
In 2022, Lafarge Canada announced a five-year in-kind donation commitment, worth $100,000, with NES.
From 2023 to 2028, Lafarge will annually provide $20,000 in aggregates, concrete, and labour.
An all-volunteer organization, NES was formed in 1989 by fishermen interested in trying to preserve the diminishing salmon population.
The hatchery annually captures and releases three types of Pacific salmon – chinook, chum and coho, around 250,000 a year.
With more than 6,900 employees and 400 sites across the country, Lafarge is Canada’s largest provider of aggregates, cement, ready mix and precast concrete, asphalt and paving, and road and civil construction.
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