For Ken Maddison, the manager of the Ocean Falls hatchery since it opened in 2003, his passion for the industry as well as his ability to adapt to change and be constantly challenged means a high level of job satisfaction.
He joined Omega Salmon Group in 1992 after completing his degree in fish health at Malaspina. Ken has also run a trout farm in Langley that supplied eggs to Chile, helped to build Skytrain as a crane operator in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland, and operated his own fish guiding business in Campbell River. He began his aquaculture career with a year at United Hatchery doing lab work. That led him to the saltwater side of the industry, first with Saga Seafarms and then Omega in Port Hardy. Ken soon realized he was most happy working with fish earlier in their lifecycle and made the change to freshwater permanent without any regrets.
There are no better people than those he works with, enthuses Ken, adding that it’s the quality of the relationships he’s built that adds such an important dimension to his job.
Ken was born in Nelson and attended high school in Cranbrook. He’s been married for 30 years to his childhood sweetheart, Shelly. They have two kids, a 16 year old daughter and a 21 year old son . The Maddison family is rounded out by Taffy the Yorkie Poo.
He enjoys vacationing in Mexico – ‘it’s a special place” – and would like to retire there when the time comes. Ken has a passion for hunting, fishing and enjoys doing home renovations. He’s done extensive work on both his Campbell River home as well as on the house he and Shelly bought in Ocean Falls five years ago.
- AddThis
