DUNN CREEK HATCHERY
HABITAT & RESTORATION, SALMONID
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA

Located 32.5 km North of Barriere on Dunn Lake Road
Sponsored by: Simpcw First Nation
Project Manager: Wayne Levesque

The hatchery started out raising Coho in 1983 in the base of the chlorination shack of the band.  This proved to be a problem of moving smolts out.  It was then decided to set up on Dunn Lake. 

The Dunn Lake hatchery was set up on the south end of Dunn Lake in 1984.  A crew was hired and lake pens were built.  The site was eventually moved to the north end of Dunn Lake.  The site would prove to be unsatisfactory due to too warm water temperatures for our smolts. It lead to too many mortalities. 

A tenure was signed with Land and Water B.C. and a new site was built in 1992 on the banks of Dunn Creek.  The move allowed to the hatchery to ground water fed, which was cooler water.  Cooler water means less mortalities. 

We presently produce Coho from the following streams:
 - Dunn Creek—15,000 target     
 - Louis—30,000 target   
 - Lemieux Creek—15,000 target 
 
Coho was declined as an addition to the endangered species list, due to the socio economic impact problems it would cause by being added.
COSEWIC  (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife Species in Canada 2002)

The Hatchery Program is overseen by the Band Fisheries Committee. 

Each October the Hatchery host an annual Coho Day inviting the local community to participate along with Neqweyqwelsten school students.