Freshwater Fisheries of B.C. recruited the help of a preschool class for the annual fish release at Glen Lake.
Each child got to release a fish into the water from a plastic bucket and then the remaining fish were released through a hose connected to the fish truck, and a total of 500 rainbow trout were released into Glen Lake.
Hatchery manager, Tristan Robbins, who has been with Freshwater Fisheries for 18 years, said they will be working with half a dozen school groups on the Island, hoping to pique their interest in nature.
“A lot of kids nowadays enjoy the video game route instead of the outdoor route, so we think that by exposing them to what is here and what is available to them hopefully it will get them asking their parents to go out and fish,” he said.
The society also teaches learn to fish programs.
Captive adults are spawned every fall, and they release “catchable” fish, anywhere from 12 to 16 months old, that create an instantaneous fishery.
Regional biologists request certain amount of fish per lake depending on how many fish are caught each year.
Elk Lake in Sidney has 14,000 fish caught per year, which is the most on Vancouver Island.