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 The Oyster River Enhancement Society (ORES) was formed in 1983 by a small group
of concerned citizens in an attempt to revitalize the decimated river. Since
it's inception, the membership has grown significantly (300+ members in 2005),
and now members come from all over Regional District and beyond.
The Oyster River Enhancement Society's mission is to enhance, restore and protect fish and
wildlife habitat on the Oyster River
The Oyster River Enhancement Society operates a strategic enhancement hatchery,
raising Pink, Coho, Chinook, and Chum salmon producing up to 2.5 million fry
annually. The hatchery is not a substitute for habitat restoration and
protection. It is only a temporary measure to restore stocks damaged by
past activities such as logging, over-fishing and urban development. The
society's ultimate goal is to close the hatchery down when the river will become
self-sustained. To achieve this goal, the society is working on habitat
restoration projects for natural spawning, rearing and over-wintering of
salmonids. Preservation and restoration of wild salmonids is the
society's utmost importance.
Using a mixture of "low tech"
and "state of the art" enhancement techniques, the society transformed
a "dead" river into one of the most productive volunteer-driven salmon
producers on Vancouver Island.
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Major Accomplishments:
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Fish hatchery with incubation capacity of over 2.5 million salmon eggs. (Coho, Pink, Chinook and Chum) on a budget of only $30-40,000 per year!
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Two hatchery spawning/rearing channels with fish traps.
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Woodhus fish ladder which assists returning salmon and steelhead to reach upper parts of the river.
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Raven Channel - 2.5 km of side channels for natural spawning, rearing and over-wintering of salmonid and trout.
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Rippingale Channel Complex - 3 km long complex of surface feed channel, ground watery channel, ponds and wetlands for natural spawning, rearing and over-wintering of salmonid
and trout.
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Rehabilitation of Channel#2, Diversion of Channel #1, Creation of Wetlands.
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Arthur Mayse Side Channel - 600m side channel with a pond for natural spawning, rearing and over-wintering of salmonid and trout.
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Patrick and Josephine Connolly Channel - groundwater
channel and pond complex for the natural spawning, rearing and over-wintering of salmonids
and trout.
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Oyster River Regional Park - 4 km of nature trails at the river's estuary
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"Partners in Knowledge" with School Districts #71 and #72.
Take
a look at the escapement data graphs of pinks,
chum, coho, and chinook to compare the numbers of salmonid in the Oyster River
throughout the years.
O.R.E.S.
is a registered, non-profit, volunteer organization and it's volunteers have
spent and will spend
many thousands of hours caring for the river and its related projects. This once
"decimated" river now has healthy salmon and trout runs.
However,
O.R.E.S.'s existence depends on successful fund raising, community support,
donations and membership fees. We appreciate all our supporters and welcome your
participation to preserve and protect fish and wildlife and
to provide more awareness, education and enjoyment of this wonderful resource.
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