Supporting a Healthy Pacific Salmon Population

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) manages Canada’s fisheries, protects aquatic ecosystems and supports navigational safety for boaters. One of the key programs that DFO manages is the Pacific Salmon Enhancement program, an important part of maintaining a healthy and sustainable salmon population in British Columbia and Yukon. 

DFO, in collaboration with the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, is actively advancing the implementation of the Upper Fraser River Hatchery program based on the HDR’s 2021 Upper Fraser River Feasibility Study, which outlined a general size and layout for a new Chinook and a new Sockeye salmon conservation facility. The final site selected is along the Nechako River in Prince George, British Columbia, and construction started in 2025. This facility will help to address conservation and rebuilding efforts for salmon in the region. 

Our team provided design services for the hatchery, which involves the design of renovations to an existing horizontal collector well system, installation of new 10,500 liters per minute vertical turbine pumps, approximately 8 kilometers of 600 millimeter high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection units, chillers and other process treatment systems to permit rearing of both chinook and sockeye salmon. This included more in-depth design support of the outlet channel to help with mitigating impacts to the critical habitat of White Sturgeon, Species at Risk/Riparian protection permitting and hydraulic protection. Our team also provided technical assistance and field services during construction.

When complete, the hatchery will enhance multiple Chinook and Sockeye salmon populations throughout the Fraser River.