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Tynehead Hatchery opens doors to public, post flooding

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GUILDFORD — The Tynehead Hatchery on the Serpentine River will be holding a special open house and fundraiser on Saturday (May 10) to draw attention to the work the group does for the environment in Guildford.

The event will be staged at the hatchery (16585 96th Ave., Surrey) from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“Events like this are a great opportunity to make people more aware of what is going on,” said Tynehead Hatchery and Serpentine Enhancement Society director Chris Hamming. 

“So many people just don’t know we have these wild pacific salmon in the middle of the city and they return each year by the hundreds. Young people need to know this and realize that this is their heritage and they need to take care of it. The people in Surrey need to know that this is their river and they should come and find out about it.”

Surrey residents, families and kids of all ages are invited to drop by the facility to tour the hatchery, learn to fish and help release young salmon into the Serpentine River. 

This is a difficult time for the volunteers at the hatchery. Severe flooding resulting from winter storms savaged the riverbeds, leading to an estimated loss of more than half the wild salmon eggs in the river. At its worst, salmon eggs covered the ground around the hatchery.

“The open house is very important because it is also a fundraiser for the hatchery,” Hamming said. “Depending on the weather, we’re expecting between 1,000 and 2,000 people coming to the hatchery. We are a 100-per-cent volunteer operation, so we need help with funding and with finding new volunteers to help us out.”

For more information, visit www.tyneheadhatchery.ca.