History of the Hatchery
The SES was established in the early ’80s when young scientist Clare Backman was studying at SFU. Backman had a dream to rehabilitate the Serpentine’s salmon run. With brood stock captured from a nearby farmer’s creek, he taught others the necessary skills to raise salmon. After securing a land lease agreement with Greater Vancouver Regional Parks, the Tynehead Hatchery was built in 1988 by an extremely dedicated group of volunteers. Some of these volunteers remortgaged their homes to fund the construction. The completed project included a fish hatchery, classroom, and research station.
In May of 2008, the hatchery announced it had secured funds for the installation of a new roof (valued at $40 000), before which it had been using a donated tarp to cover the old one. The remaining money came from the former BCTC, which has now integrated into BC Hydro.
Several other organizations also helped to fund this project and ongoing operations at the facility. These include the Province of British Columbia, PSF, PPF, DFO, and Metro Vancouver.