April 14 2026: For the sixth consecutive year, MRSS released 5000 fed chum salmon fry at the Maple Street canoe Launch in Harrison Hot Springs. Despite the heavy rain, children from the K-1 class of the local school helped carry the fry, bucket by bucket, to the river's edge for release. MRSS members and some members of the public came to help and observe. Our DFO Advisor interacted with the children about the life cycle of salmon and their importance. After acclimatizing to Miami River for a day or two, the fry will head out to the ocean. After 4 years, some will return to the Miami river to spawn.
2025 Update: On April 14, 2025, MRSS and DFO again released 5000 fed chum fry with the help of students from the Harrison Elementary School. The students will also release the salmon they raised in the classroom the same day.
Miami River Streamkeepers Society (MRSS) members, with the help of the DFO community advisor, have released 5000 Chum salmon fry into the Miami River in April for the past five years. In 2021 because of Covid restrictions, only the Streamkeepers could participate. In 2022, Harrison Elementary Grade 2/3 class helped DFO and the MRSS release another 5000. This year, 2023, again on a very wet, rainy morning, several local citizens and some out of town guests, helped the Streamkeepers release the fry - perfect weather to release fish!
2024 Update: On April 11, 2024, MRSS again released 5000 Chum fry. The grade 5-6 class from Harrison Elementary School along with their teacher, teacher aides and some parents assisted. The highlight was one albino chum fry in the tank. One lucky student received a prize for being the one who got to release it. The DFO Hatchery support technician awarded the students prizes for answering a series of questions about the ecology of the river. Harrison Hot Springs Mayor and one councillor also attended. A representative of the Pacific Salmon Commission also observed the release.The three week old Chum from the Chehalis River Hatchery spend a few days imprinting on the Miami before embarking on a journey to the Pacific via the Harrison and Fraser rivers, returning in three and half years. The release is part of DFO’s Salmonid Enhancement Program to conserve Pacific Salmon stocks. Since 2006, MRSS have partnered with the Village of Harrison Hot Springs on riparian restoration projects along the greenway, planting thousands of native plants to improve the damaged habitat. Healthy riparian areas help maintain good water quality by reducing erosion, providing shade and shelter and providing food for aquatic life. Streamkeepers work routinely to keep the riparian healthy by removing invasive plants, garden waste and other dumped trash.
April 2023
