An overview of the year by the society presidentIn the interest of awareness I would like to highlight a few of the many positives that exemplify the Society’s dedication to both watershed and community.
Through its participation in the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tagging (POST) and Adult Telemetry studies, the Society continued to monitor Steelhead migration patterns in both salt and freshwater environments through the 2008 season. The SSS is overjoyed to report that this year’s return of Summer Run Steelhead represents one of the best on record. It should be noted that the large hatchery component of said run once again confirms the importance our Seymour River Steelhead program plays in perpetuating a healthy presence of summer runs.
In April of this year, the Hatchery released in excess of 1,000,000 Pink Salmon smolts into the Seymour River, almost double the number released in 2006. If the favourable marine environment which currently exists is seen to continue we anticipate that Pink Salmon returns in the years ahead to be nothing short of superb.
If there was a singular annual accomplishment that best defines the Seymour Salmonid Society’s philosophy of community interaction it would have to be our
Gently Down the Seymour Educational Program. I am proud to say that hundreds of school children benefited from the delivery of our 2008 program, an achievement which is dependent on a good contractor, dedicated hatchery staff and the benevolence of both corporate and individual donors.
In late September, the SSS was honored to showcase our hatchery facility to a contingent of Municipal and Provincial politicians; attendees included Provincial Environment Minister Barry Penner, North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Daniel Jarvis and North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton.
Overall, 2008 has been a very busy year, one in which the Society has been relentless in its progressive movement forward.
This year’s Annual General Meeting will be highlighted by Keynote speaker Derek Bonnin. Derek is a Registered Professional Forester who has worked with Metro Vancouver for the past 28 years. Mr. Bonnin’s presentation, “Metro Vancouver’s Watersheds: Fisheries and Watershed Sustainability”, will provide an overview of initiatives and challenges on which Metro Vancouver is embarking. Given Metro Vancouver’s ongoing commitment to sustaining anadromous fish stocks and fisheries within the Seymour and Capilano watersheds I expect this particular area of discussion will be most interesting.
The Society urges all members to participate in this years Annual General Meeting and welcomes all other parties interested in attending. Members in good standing will be asked to vote and participate in the election of our Board of Directors. Nominations to the board will be accepted during the meeting. Persons with an interest in serving on the Board who have questions in that regard are welcome to contact myself at 604 986-3239.
Dave Steele
President, Seymour Salmonid Society
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Topic: Seymour Salmonid Society AGM, November 26th 2008 (Read 1417 times)