In photos: Hatcheries stock B.C. lakes with millions of fish
The stocking program releases catchable fish into about 800 bodies of water in the province
Steve Arnold, manager at the Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery, stocks a learning pond with catchable rainbow trout in Abbotsford, B.C., on March 28, 2013.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
The stocking program, run by the non-profit Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, produces more than eight million trout, steel-head, char and kokanee salmon each year, releasing them into about 800 bodies of water provincewide.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Arnold holds steelhead eggs that are ready to hatch.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Kurt Vinge gathers rainbow trouts in the 5 -7 gram range to monitor their growth rate.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Vinge of the Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery monitors the growth rate of rainbow trouts in the 5 - 7 gram range. The released fish range in size from fry that are smaller than a finger, to adult “catchables,” that are big enough to be taken home and eaten.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Arnold checks in on the Blackwater River strain of rainbow trouts at the Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mike Gass, outreach coordinator for the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, releases a rainbow trout into a learning pond at the Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery on March 28, 2013.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mel D'Sa, middle, fishes with his children, Xavier, 8, and Sonya, 6, for rainbow trout at Sasamat Lake in Port Moody, B.C., on March 29, 2013. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC runs a Learn to Fish program that has been delivered to over 80,000 children and their families across the province.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
An angler waits for a bite while float-fishing for rainbow trout at Sasamat Lake in Port Moody, B.C. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is a non-profit organization with fishing license revenues being the primary source of funding.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail