June 15, 2022, by Alex McCarrel

The future is coming to SSSC with the construction of our new Spawning and Incubation Facility, commonly referred to as the SPIFy Project! Plans are in the works to bring our former spawning facility, built by Sheldon Jackson college students in the 1970s, into the 21^st century with the construction of a modern hatchery facility that will co locate incubation and spawning operations. The facility will be a safer and more efficient platform and provide a more modern experience as an educational facility for aquaculture students and a better showcase of aquaculture to visitors near and far.

From raceways to wrangling fish, technology and techniques are being updated to allow for more efficient and safe spawning and incubation.  With the new facility, we will no longer have to haul buckets from the spawn shed to the Sage Building basement. Newly fabricated spawning tables will also make the hatchery work more ergonomical. The way spawning salmon are euthanized will also be updated, to utilizing electroshocking technology.

 

So, what will this all look like? Visible now is our new spawning concrete platform over a revamped raceway. The platform will house new shock boxes for salmon euthanization and aluminum troughs for spawning. A new incubation building will also be home to a multipurpose space, that can be used as a classroom and indoor space for tagging, shocking, and picking eggs. At the back of the building there will be an incubation room with viewing windows, hosting incubation trays for Coho, Pink, and Chum salmon.

 

Outside the building, a large ponding trough will be built into the ground, allowing for great salmon viewing. A paved path will wind around the perimeter of the building, eventually continuing along the raceway with a foot bridge over the fish ladder. Construction is moving fast. It is estimated the building will be framed and roofed by mid-July! All spawning components of this project will be completed this year, just in time for the return of the salmon, with the incubation facility projected to be completed later in the fall.

Are you interested in learning more about our hatchery? Join us for our Behind the Scenes tours! These 90-minute tours will take you through areas not usually accessible to the public, for a deeper dive into the day-to-day operations of our historical hatchery. Click here for more information.