“We came together and got the work that needed to be done and we celebrated”

Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger says:”the Salmon fry release and the Fish Hatchery ground breaking ceremony at PIB Thursday was so amazing.  I am so proud of everyone that contribuded from our children to our elders,,, To our staff, Okanagan Nation Alliance staff, (our technical people) to our Grassroots People (our Spiritual Leaders),,, To our sponsers,,, To our Leaders past and present.We shared a wonderful meal together and had fun,that is an amazing day 

Wai Lim Limpt

400 people attended the ground breaking according to one report – the day was made special by a ceremony following the release of salmon to break ground for a long-planned fish hatchery on Shingle Creek.

Releasing salmon fry into the river started in 2004.

Okanagan Nation Alliance and the eight member communities –  seven years of collaborative visioning, planning and detailed preparations for the new hatchery, which is part of a long-term program to restore sockeye in the upper Okanagan watershed, Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake systems.

The 25,000-square-foot hatchery is being developed in partnership with and funded by the Washington state public utility companies.

It could be completed in May 2014, with the capacity to rear up to eight million sockeye salmon eggs which will be released  as fry into the Okanagan system.