April 22, 2024 - The Fisheries and Oceans Canada must decide whether the installation of a circular fiberglass tub farm, located at Rosewall Creek Hatchery, B.C. is likely to cause significant adverse effects. 

To help inform this decision, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is inviting comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment. All comments received will be considered public. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.  

Written comments must be submitted by May 22, 2024 to:

Philippe Ouellet, PSSI Project Engineer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Real Property Technical Services, Pacific Region
Email: Philippe.Ouellet@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Tel: (343) 575-5985
200 - 401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6C 3S4

Assessment Summary
As part of the PSSI and associated Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) program, the Rosewall Creek Research Hatchery (Rosewall Hatchery) was selected to receive funding to expand the aquaculture capacity on-site in order to meet specific conservation enhancement targets for salmonid populations as well as to meet program's mandate. To enable the required program's conservation initiatives, new fiberglass circular tubs will be installed to ensure adequate rearing capacity. Due to aging infrastructure and poor physical condition, the current tanks and brooding infrastructure cannot adequately meet the program's expanding mandate and operational requirements, hence the current update.

The proposed construction and project will involve:  
For starters, to prepare the area for the new infrastructure, existing soil will need to be stripped. The stripped soils will either be stockpiled on-site or removed based on-site capacity and environmental requirements.  Additionally, any material requiring offsite disposal will be recycled where possible or properly disposed of. 
Following stripping, suitable granular fill will be imported to achieve the grading required for construction. 
Then, all required underground services including electrical, water supply, drainage piping, and air lines to support the new module of fiberglass rearing tubs can be installed. 
Following the installation of underground utilities, approximately 14 to 28 circular fiberglass rearing tubs – for one module – ranging from 1.84 m to 6.10 m in diameter will be installed and connected to new and existing underground services. 
The construction period will be from summer 2024 to fall 2025, pending any weather delays.
No in-water works are anticipated for this project. There will be no tree or vegetation removal as part of the associated works, as the project is occurring within an already developed lot.

Project Location
Rosewall Hatchery is a DFO owned and operated asset, located hallway between Bowser and Fanny Bay on the east side of Vancouver Island, approximately 85 km northwest of Nanaimo, BC. The hatchery was built in the 1960's as a research site. The hatchery currently supports an endangered sockeye salmon population. The site is under the jurisdiction of DFO, and as such is on federal land. 

Site Address: Rosewall Creek Salmon Hatchery, 8245 Berray Rd, Fanny Bay BC

Site Access: Public road
Latitude: 49? 27' 44. 08"N 
Longitude: -124?46'35.79"W