And They Blame the Seals

Animal Advocates Watchdog

Salmon fry killed when vandals break into fish hatchery

Marcel Tetrault
Comox Valley Echo

Friday, April 17, 2009

Pink salmon fry were killed this week when vandals broke into a fish hatchery on Wilfred Creek in Fanny Bay.

About 1 million fry are raised at the hatchery every year.

"Most of the fish at this time, because they're pinks, had already left," said Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society president Judy Ackinclose.

"But there still were a few left in the tanks. It's still the dregs there."

Hatchery volunteers had last been at the hatchery Monday afternoon and, when they returned Wednesday afternoon, the damage had been done.

It appears that vandals accessed the area with an ATV and then broke into the hatchery through the window.

Nothing appears to have been stolen, but the water was turned off to the tanks containing the salmon fry.

"The whole act of them turning off the water is just mind boggling," said Ackinclose. "It's a senseless act. Why would they do these things?"

But the water was not turned off at the source -- it continued to pour out of the tank's header.

"By the time the guys went up (Wednesday) morning to look at it, the floor was covered with about a foot of water," said Ackinclose.

Anybody with any information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 250-338-TIPS (8477).

� Comox Valley Echo 2009