Trip to the Salmon Hatchery

October 5th

I tried my hand at salmon fishing this summer and came home with enough coho and chinook to last the winter.  Catching the salmon was easy enough, but when it came to clubbing and gutting, I passed the job on to either the boat-owner or my seven year old friend, Roan.  Roan was born and raised on Haida Gwaii, and is accustomed to fishing, hunting and gathering food.  When there was a lot of blood, he was thoughtful enough to suggest that I look away, and when a near-dead salmon thrashed around inside the hatch, he gently told me that it was "just the nerves".  This week at school, we headed over to the Salmon Hatchery to learn about spawning.  Pat and Roger demonstrated how to catch and, sadly, kill the female salmon in order to take her eggs, and how to milk the males.  A few brave kids volunteered to club the salmon while others shielded their faces or watched with curiosity.  I tried to appear stoic, and ended up learning quite a lot about salmon.  I learned that it takes only ninety seconds for the eggs to become fertilized, and we watched the rejected sperm rise to the surface of the water.  I also learned that salmon spawned at the Hatchery have a ninety percent chance of survival, as opposed to in the wild where they only stand a ten percent chance.  When the eggs hatch, our school will be given a tank of salmon fry to look after over the winter, and I'm sure the children will have a clear understanding of where they came from.  When they are strong enough, we will release them into the wild to begin the cycle over again.  As I biked home from school, past the creek that is full of female salmon slowly dying, I realize that I am becoming more and more accustomed to living here, even though it can feel like a sensory overload at times.