The Creston Valley Rod and Gun Club has teamed up with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, the Lower Kootenay Band and the Ministry of Forests to re-stock Kootenay Lake with kokanee salmon this fall.

Cathy Fielder, director of fisheries at the Creston Valley Rod and Gun Club, says kokanee salmon "are trapped within a predator pit, which is an imbalance of predator and prey,"  and that re-stocking the lake with kokanee "should help to relieve the pressure and give them a chance to escape the predator pit." The restocking will also create more diversity for both locals and tourists to fish for.

The project is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Tourism titled the Destination Development Fund.

Eggs will be collected from the upper Columbia River over a 30-day period in August. They will then be transported to the Kootenay Trout Hatchery, incubated for six to eight weeks and transported to release sites in November.  If successful, the kokanee salmon should be self-sustainable within five to ten years.

Fielder joined CJLY to discuss the project. Listen to the story below: