ats atter aluminum Tuesday. A large gathering of wellwishers was on hand at Matsumoto Ship- yards to witness the launching of a $500,000 aluminum barge, the last vessel built by the company. The 50,000-gallon barge was constructed for Richmond-based Canada’s Finest Natural Water Inc. (CFNW) and will be used to carry glacial water from the com- pany’s licenced site at Toba Inlet near Desolation Sound to a bottl- ing plant in Richmond. _ The bottled water will be truck- ed to California to compete in California’s $800 million per year bottled water sales market. Said the drinking water com- pany’s president Ralph Ingram, “We're going out to kill the U.S. market.’’ While the launching of the barge, Canadian Natural 1, heralded a beginning for CFNW, the construction ‘of the craft mark- ed an ending for the Matsumoto Shipyards operation. ; Said shipyard founder Sam Matsumoto, 70: ‘‘It’s something different from what we have been building, it’s an all-aluminum barge. It’s very durable. The boats we have built 25 years ago are stil] as good as the day they were built. This is my last project. I’m grate- ful for the building of this barge because I was able to use our in- ventory aluminum. I would like to thank the company for the oppor- tunity to build their first barge for this enterprise.”’ The barge was built from aluminum sheets the shipyard had MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter SHIPYARD founder Sam Mat- sumoto ...‘‘The beats we have built 25 years ago are still as good as the day they were built.’ on hand for an earlier order that fell through. Matsumoto has been winding down the shipyard operation in anticipation of retirement. The shipyard opened in the spring fol- lowing Matsumoto’s move to the coast from Nelson in 1949, where he had been interned along with thousands of other people of Jap- unese descent, The shipyard, which specialized in fishing boat construction, fell CAPILANO RIVER ALTHOUGH EARLY-run coho salmon have returned to the Capilano River in near record numbers thus far in 1988, Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials fear the river’s marginal chinook could be in serious trouble. Fisheries officer Scotty Rox- burgh said last week an estimated 428 chinook salmon will return to the river this year, according to current data collected by depart- ment biologists. The Capilano River hatchery needs a minimum of 2,000 adult chinook to supply the eggs and sperm to ensure a Capilano Eldoa HATCHERY manager Stone ...too early to determine chinook run outcome. By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter chinook run. In past years, the hatchery has supplemented its chinook shortfall with eggs from Vancouver Island’s Big Qualicum River. “But this year could be a real problem, because it looks like there will be no surplus from the Qualicum,’’ Roxburgh said. ‘if we don’t get any fish to the hatch- ery this year there is not going to be a (chinook) run four years down the road.”’ He added that the mouth of the Capilano will be closed to recre- ational chinook fishing from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31. Hatchery manager Eldon Stone said it was too early in the year to determine what the 1988 chinook returns will be. “*But,’’ he added, ‘‘if you go on the assumption that chinook stocks are down overall, one might start to be concerned.’” Early runs of Capilano coho have been extremely strong this year: by the end of June, 14,000 had returned to the hatchery com- pared with 153 by the end of June noto ‘aunc! A UNIQUE chapter of the North Shore shipbuilding in- dustry closed with the resounding splash of champagne on on hard times over a decade ago when the federal government put a lid on the allotment of new fishing licences. Earlier this year Matsumoto’s plan to close his company and retire was caught in the crossfire of a battle between Dollarton-Deep Cove residents and Ramrod_ In- vestments Ltd. over the future land use of the Matsumoto property. But with the last vesse! construc- tion completed, Matsumoto is sail- ing clear into retirement. “I'll be fishing and golfing and travelling. lL certainly won't be building boats.” CFNW oppresident Ingram aati- cipates the barge will be in service by late August. The barge will ini- tially make a trip a week between the glacial water source and the bottling plant. The water is taken from Alpine Creek, which is fed from glaciers located in the B.C. Coast moun- tain range. The company’s licence allows for the removal of 100,000 gallons of water per day from an estimated creek flow of 12 million gallons per day. The bottled water, labelled Ca- nadian Natural, should be available to B.C. consumers by September. Once the California market (representing 40 per cent of total U.S. bottled water consump- tion) has been quenched, the com- pany plans to move into the southeastern U.S., up the eastern seaboard and into the midwest. Ingram said the company has had inquiries about its product from Japan, Kuwait and Britain. But he said, ‘‘We haven't felt we're ready to pursue these mar- kets aggressively yet."’ 1987, As of. July £8, 31,000 coho had made it back to the hatchery, which needs approximately 600 coho per month for the eggs and sperm to replenish the river’s overall coho run. But Stone said that while, in sheer numbers, the hatchery has had more than enough coho returns thus far this year, those returns have only been from the early portion of the coho run. In order to ensure the good health of the entire run, the. hatch- 3 ~ Friday, July 29, 1988 - North Shore News NEWS photo Miko Wakefield GAIL GATTO cracks a bottle of champagne over the last barge to leave Matsumoto Shipyards 91 a launching purty Wednesday. Last year, for example, only 50 chinook returned to the hatchery. “It looks like we are fighting a losing battle,’’ Perry said. Overall Georgia Strait chinook populations have dropped drastically over the past four years, and, according to Federal Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon, now face extinction. But Perry said all is not bleak on the local chinook horizon. Fisheries and Oceans sea pens operating in Deep Cove Indian “Overall Georgia S Strait chinook populations have dropped drastically over the past four years...*? ery needs fish from all | the run’s various segments. Reduced river levels in the cur- rent dry weather, he said, have slowed the return of fresh coho stock. Chinook are not native to the Capilano, but the river’s hatchery has attempted to establish a chinook run in the river for the past 17 years. Salmonid Enhancement Pro- gram biologist Ted Perry said such factors as fluctuating river water levels, low chinook returns and down-river Native and sports fish- eries have combined to keep the run marginal at best. Arm, Burrard Inlet and Horseshoe Bay have released 2.2 million chinook smolts this year. Though the sea-pen project is aimed at establishing a recreational chinook fishery in Indian Arm away ‘from the mouth of the Capilano and its adjacent heavy marine traffic, Perry said some of the fish will find their way into area rivers such as the Capilano and the Seymour when they return. He added that if no chinook eggs were available for transplant to the Capilano hatchery from Big Qualicum, eggs could be supplied from Vancouver Island’s Quinsam hatchery. Auto.................39 Classified Ads.........41 Doug Collins.......... 9 Editorial Page......... 6 Home & Garden.......27 Maiibox.............. 7 North Shore Now......15 TV Listings...........26 What's Going On.......25 Friday, sunny with cloudy pariods. Saturday, mainly sunny. Highs 22-25°C. ~ Store moved A JULY 27 News report chronicl- ing the July 26 fire which destroyed several 1500-block Lonsdale Avenue businesses er- roneously listed Ultra Sight Lons- dale Optical Ltd. among the gutted stores. Queen’s Fur and Alterations, a company that had just moved into the former location of Ultra Sight, was damaged during the blaze. Ultra Sight, relocated at mew premises next door to Queen’s, suffered minor smoke damage only and is open for business. North Vancouver City Fire Department investigators believe the fire began in the lower base- ment area of Magic Fashions.