At the Goldstream Hatchery, a young fish fanatic is at work.
Julia Jupp’s fascination with salmon started with family trips to Goldstream Park.
“We would go there every week on Saturdays to watch them collect the fish from the river,” says Jupp.
“It started honestly around the age of three or four poking a dead salmon washed up on the shoreline,” says mom Joscilyn.
“[She] started asking the basic questions of why is this fish dead? How did it get here?” adds Joscilyn.
It was those very questions that led mother and daughter to volunteer with the Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association at the Goldstream Hatchery. It’s an experience that both have loved.
“It’s been awesome, I have learned a lot,” says Jupp.
It’s even kicked off a mother-daughter rivalry.
“I will come up on extra days when she’s at school and I’ll get the stamping feet saying that’s not fair that you got to go up there and I didn’t,” smiles Joscilyn.
Jupp’s become a full-fledged hatchery member. Every Saturday she does a variety of tasks, from feeding the fish to sorting eggs.
The nine-year-old continues to amaze hatchery regulars such as technical advisor Peter McCully.
“She’s constantly thinking about this resource,” says McCully.
She’s coming up with questions that stump me [and] it’s encouraging and it energizes me and the other folks at the hatchery,” adds McCully.
It’s kids like Jupp that give McCully hope for the hatchery’s future and salmon enhancement.
“Well I’m encouraged with young people such as Jupp who have that passion and represent the new generation in the future that will take on the role of protecting and advocating for this wonderful creature,” says McCully.
To learn more about the hatchery, visit their website.
Cole Sorenson
