Discover Discovery Harbour

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The Campbell River Indian Band is set to expand the successful Discovery Harbour Marina. The expansion will allow the marina to meet the demands of large harbour traffic in the area. It will involve a 1,400-foot extension of mooring space to the existing marina, allowing for about 700 vessels to dock. The construction of a floating marina office and upgrades to power and administration services are also in the works. As many as six temporary jobs will be created during the construction phase and the expansion will provide three full- and part-time jobs after construction. Also for the Campbell River area, an investment of $400,000 will be made by Indian and Northern Affairs for a program that will rebuild salmon stocks in the Bute Inlet through the raising and release of coho smolts. Returning salmon will be processed into products for the restaurant trade and Japanese markets.

The program will be undertaken by the Taggares-Homalco Hatchery, which is owned and operated by the Homalco First Nation. The nation reports it has developed a new and innovative resource management model designed to protect wild salmon and generated a profit while enhancing salmon stocks for the recreational and commercial fishing industries. When full production levels are reached in 2006, the coho program is expected to not only generate annual profits of $40,000 for the hatchery, but almost $20 million in economic activity and more than 120 jobs for the entire region in the sport fishing and related tourism industry.