Text Story

Max Higgins

Oct 15, 2023

Gateway 

Text Story

Chris Girvan

Within the Nitinat River Hatchery field office in British Columbia, Canada, sits Chris Girvan collecting data on salmon spawn, predicting optimal release times, checking environmental qualities, and how to improve them. Recently Chris Girvan has been recognized for his hard work and dedication in the pursuit of Salmon sustainability by being accepted into VIU College. This was a path set up for him by his superiors at Nitinat inorder for him to get the diplomas necessary to lead his own team in implementing a plan to create a future where the salmon population doesn’t need hatcheries to sustain them.

Girvan has been attending Vancouver Island University for the past three months, leaving him with what he describes as a “ restlessness” that comes from not being out in the field. Being a person who loves hands-on work along with the great outdoors, his everyday classes confine him. “Right now, this school is draining,” said Girvan. “I am paying money to do it instead of being paid and learning more about what I love.” Despite his internal conflict with academic learning, Girvan recognizes the necessity of learning from others who work in the field and are familiar with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans framework. The connections and insite Girvan has been gaining are vital for being successful in building a team when he leaves the University.

Through his teenage years, Girvan showed an elevated level of devotion to his local volunteer hatchery, Goldstream. This is where he first learned how to incubate fish, raise them to hatchlings in a hatchery facility, and then release them at the optimal age. Girvan became a pivotal member of the community, with Carol (Goldstream’s manager) saying, “He’s the type of kid that can listen while still giving me what I need to know when I’m out on the field. I’ve never seen a volunteer with so much dedication.” When asked why he is so dedicated to something that is a hobby to most, he responded by saying, “There is something in me that just loves fish, and I couldn’t stray away from it. It was my passion.” Girvan expressed his love for the job even more by saying, “I just got into this field thinking it was something cool and it turned out to be  something I could do for a living and that’s what I’ve been following.”

Looking ahead, Girvan imagines a future where we have a balance between effective regulations to preserve natural habitats and the population boasting effects of the hatcheries, which would in turn, create a sustainable ecosystem. He plans to advocate for and pursue a path of habitat restoration, putting importance on initiatives that place boulders in crucial locations to create cover for young salmon and the clearance of pollutants to create an environment suitable for salmon spawning. 

With an abundance of diverse opinions on how to address salmon enhancement, Girvan threads the line, advocating for a mix of the two dominant opinions. The debate between the two is that hatcheries are a necessity in making sure the fish population in the rivers don’t die out and that hatcheries cause too much competition between the naturally born fish in the rivers. With these arguments in mind, Girvan recognizes the necessity of hatcheries in maintaining salmon populations while working towards the goal of a self-sustaining ecosystem.