Project Scale:
250 tonne annual production Atlantic Salmon smolt

Where:
Prince Rupert, BC, Canada

When:
Design and construction began in 2001 and continued through 2002. The facility began production as construction was completed.

Project Description:
The Wolf Creek Hatchery was at the time of its construction, the largest recirculating salmon hatchery in the world. Starting with a green field, PR Aqua designed the Wolf Creek Hatchery with recirculated culture systems for all life stages of rearing from egg to smolt and incorporated all of the utilities, services, and site features required of an efficient, commercial fish production facility. With a total rearing volume of greater than 3200 m3 and a heated, recirculated flow of more than 60,000 lpm, this facility is bristling with state-of-the-art technological features and has an immense production capacity.

Services Provided:
Turn-key facility design, equipment supply, and construction management services. At design completion, PR Aqua prepared operating manuals and provided training to operations staff.

Project Features:
The hatchery culture facilities included two portable, container mounted incubation systems, a 90 m3 early rearing facility, a 600 m3 fry rearing facility, and a smolt rearing facility featuring four 620 m3 modules. The incubation recirculation systems included sand filtration for particulate removal, UV sterilization for pathogen control, and chilling to allow for early cohort staggering. All other culture systems allowed for heating and recirculation of up to 98% of the flow with treatment systems featuring gravity and microscreen filtration, fluidized bed biofilters, carbon dioxide stripping, pure oxygen addition, and disinfection technologies. All culture systems were enclosed in insulated buildings, with durable steel frames and cladding, to provide for bio-security and total control over the culture environment.

In addition to the culture systems, PR Aqua developed the site, utilities and services including personnel residences and offices, primary and backup power systems, bulk oxygen storage, natural gas supply, site monitoring and alarm systems, a feed storage building, and comprehensive influent supply and effluent treatment systems.

Challenges and Solutions:
Supply of water to the facility posed some challenging problems requiring innovative solutions. Surface water was to be supplied to the hatchery by gravity from a distant municipal reservoir, requiring the construction of a 1.6 km pipeline over difficult terrain with over 100 m of vertical fall. The pipeline featured two (2) creek crossings, including one (1) suspension bridge, and special attention to air relief and protection from freezing. Influent water quality varied seasonally and a comprehensive treatment system was required to reduce sediment and organic loads, and to treat for pathogens.

The hatchery site was heavily sloped, required removal of significant amounts of rock, and was littered with the unsalvageable remnants of pipes and structures from a decommissioned hatchery that formerly occupied the site. Integration of the new hatchery buildings, systems, and utilities with the existing site limitations was a major challenge to the design and construction.

To comply with both regulatory requirements and local sensitivities, a comprehensive waste management plan was executed, including the design of facilities to capture, hold, treat and dispose of hatchery waste products and water. Careful attention was also given to fish escapement prevention through the use of both static and automated, self-cleaning fish exclusion screens.

Results:
Production began in 2002 with stock entering the system as construction proceeded. The first fry and smolts were produced out of the facility in 2003.