Changes coming to the Summerland Trout Hatchery and Visitor Centre to streamline operations
Changes at the Summerland Trout Hatchery and Visitor Centre are anticipated to streamline operations and help reduce costs.
“The Summerland Trout Hatchery will be undergoing renovations in 2026, as part of ongoing work by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC to update and modernize the hatchery and fish- production system,” society marketing and communications director Stacy Webb wrote in an email.
The society, funded by the revenue from fishing licenses, operates six major hatcheries that release trout, char, and kokanee into 800 lakes in the province for the recreational stocking program.
“The changes will result in a smaller footprint, helping our non-profit organization achieve efficiencies in process and cost,” Webb wrote.
Neither she nor the society’s website provide details on what is involved in achieving “a smaller footprint.”
Renovations will require some adjustments to operations at the Summerland hatchery but are not anticipated to result in changes to the region’s stocking program.
“The Society will continue to rear fish at our Skaha site and release fish into surrounding Okanagan Region lakes out of the Sumerland facility,” Webb wrote.
The visitor centre at the Summerland site will be closed.
Society staff will continue activities such as public stocking events in the area and the Learn to Fish program will also continue to be delivered in the Okanagan.
Seasonal outreach staff will be based out of one of the other hatchery locations.
“All staff have been offered continued employment at the site and/or at other Society locations,” Webb wrote.
Work at the Summerland hatchery will begin this coming summer after the springtime fish releases are complete.
The Society holds a water license from the province to use the water from Shaughnessy Spring which has provided high-quality water for the hatchery for almost a century.
