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Hard work, determination lead to success
By Kathy O'Reilly, North Island Eagle, July 10 2026​
Port McNeill hockey player Scarlett Sawyer, who turns 16 in August, has earned a spot with the Tri-City Express U16 AAA team, marking the next step in a hockey journey that began when she was four years old.
Scarlett’s path to the Tri-City Express has included years of local hockey, leadership roles, individual awards, and a steady move into higher levels of competition.
“I started playing hockey at four years old, playing for the Port McNeill Whalers until U9 before transitioning to the North Island Eagles for U11 through U13, where I was named Most Improved Player in both of my U13 seasons,” Scarlett said.
“In my first year of U15, I joined the Tri-Port Wild as an assistant captain and earned the Best Overall Player Award, followed by the team MVP award in my second year.”
After that regular season, Scarlett, a centre, played her first year of spring hockey as an assistant captain for the North Island Panthers ‘A’ team.
“I continued with the Wild until my first year of U18, when I was named team captain and recorded an 82-point season with 52 goals and 30 assists, before playing my second spring season with the Panthers immediately after,” she recalled.
“I was incredibly fortunate to have my dad (Dave) as my coach from my first year of U11 all the way through my first year of U18, and I am excited to see what my hockey future holds as I continue to learn and grow as a player.”
It has taken a great deal of commitment from both Scarlett and her family for her to follow her passion.
“We are from the ‘Namgis First Nation in Alert Bay but moved over to Port McNeill when she was two. We moved to be closer to the arena. Her older brother and sister also played hockey. Her younger sister isn’t that far behind her on her hockey journey,” said mom Shonna.
“Before we moved over, we were catching the ferry almost every day for extracurricular activities. It just made sense to move to Port McNeill.”
Scarlett says what she likes most about hockey is that it has been a consistent presence in her life. “It has allowed me to meet so many new people who are now some of my best friends, and it has allowed me to travel to new places and play in a different province. I have made so many memories that will be with me forever,” she said. Hockey has also taught her how to deal with stress, manage nerves, and regulate her emotions.
“When I am playing, nothing else matters - whether it is school or friend problems. It allows me to have a clear mind, let loose, and just have fun,” Scarlett continued.
“Ultimately, it has given me a mindset that I wouldn’t otherwise have. It taught me how to be a leader and showed me that hard work pays off. Hockey has truly made me who I am today.”
The Tri-City Express Scarlett is headed to is a team in the newly formed Female Super League designed to give players more opportunities to develop their skills and pursue higher levels of hockey, including university programs, where many elite female players continue their careers.
The Tri-City Express will have showcase games in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Saskatchewan.
Scarlett’s first step toward this opportunity was finding the courage to try out for Indigenous Team BC in Kamloops as a first-year player. She was the youngest player eligible to try out.
“Both the coaches and evaluators at the camp noticed her and ranked her pretty high. Although you have to be a standout as a first-year player, they kept her on their radar and offered her a spot on the team, which is typically reserved for those who participated in identification camps,” explained Shonna.
“We also played the last two years in spring hockey for the Panthers out of Campbell River, which helps players get noticed.”
Having Scarlett relocate to play at a higher level is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.
“You really have to think about what’s best. It also takes a lot of commitment and dedication from the individual. We’ve done our homework and feel like Scarlett is in good hands with the Tri-City Express U16 AAA team, coaches, and management,” said Shonna. “And we are very proud of all of the hard work she’s put in, especially coming from a small town and straight out of recreational hockey.”
The family is currently fundraising to cover some of the associated costs, including a Loonie auction in Alert Bay Aug. 1.
“This will help cover the cost of the academy she is going to, which is very expensive. We will also use the money to help pay for her billet in Coquitlam.”
Photo — Submitted
Port McNeill hockey player Scarlett Sawyer, who turns 16 in August, has earned a spot with the Tri-City Express U16 AAA team.
UBC PhD study follows salmon after release
By Kathy O'Reilly, North Island Eagle, July 10 2026
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What happens to fish after we let them go?
This is a question University of BC PhD candidate Kaitlyn Zinn has always wondered about while watching them swim away.
“Whether it’s a Steelhead in a river, Rainbow Trout in a lake, or Chinook in the ocean… when letting a fish go, we hope they survive. But how do we know what truly happens,” Zinn, from Port McNeill, said.
“After a lifetime of fishing, this fundamental question led me to pursue my doctoral degree at the University of British Columbia.”
Zinn works with Dr. Scott Hinch in the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation lab in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship. “Our lab work focuses on a wide array of topics focuses on salmonid conservation including land-use impacts, physiology, disease and pathogens, climate change, and fisheries impacts,” she stated.
Zinn’s PhD research aims to answer that question, and to better understand exactly how to improve the survival of the fish we release, whether due to regulation or choice.
“I collaborated with the Sportfishing Institute of British Columbia to create a study that assessed how various gear choices and handing practices impact the injuries and eventual survival of Chinook Salmon in the marine recreational troll fishery,” Zinn explained.
Her research has two components: one where they captured Chinook Salmon with a variety of tactics and held them in tanks for two weeks to assess the progression of their injuries, and another where they were tagged and released so their post-release survival in the wild could be tracked.
After completing this work and writing up the results, they have come up with a list of ‘best practices’ that anglers can use to increase the survival of fish they release.
“With the July 15 opening coming up, I wanted to share this information with my community so we can give fish their best chance at surviving when we have to, or want to, let them go.”
By adhering to the following best practices, the survival of the fish will be substantially improved.
Use smaller hooks
• Larger hooks are related to more severe injuries, and larger gap widths increase the probability of eye injury and blood loss, and subsequent mortality. A hook with a gap width of 15 mm (e.g. 3/0 ‘Octopus’ hook) or smaller is recommended if you are likely to be releasing fish.
Avoid treble hooks
• Treble hooks increase hook wound severity and decreased survival probabilities; this is especially true for the smaller fish (< 62 cm) that are often non-retainable in the fishery.
Land fish as quickly as possible
• Prolonged anaerobic exercise (aka burst swimming- the kind of swimming fish use when on the line) increases the metabolic oxygen debt, which can lead to cardiac collapse and increase the cost and time of recovery.
Avoid landing nets
The use of landing nets (including rubber-coated ‘fish friendly’ ones) are associated with fin splitting, scale loss, and mucous removal. If a net must be used so a fish can be measured, ensure the fish remains in the water during this process and isn’t lifted out of the water by the net.
Limit any touching of fish
• Reduce physical handling as much as possible. Do not use fabric ‘fish-handling’ gloves to handle fish. Physical contact with a fish may remove mucous and scales, which can be a pathway for pathogen infection. If you would like to take a photo with your fish before release, use bare wet hands and lift the fish from the water briefly while supporting the belly.
Release fish at the water line
• If a fish is a non-target species or obviously the wrong size to retain, use a gaff, pliers, or other purpose-built tools, to remove the hook at the water line to avoid the risk of physical contact.
Release fish immediately
• Release the fish immediately rather than trying to ‘revive’ them. Revival techniques such as moving the fish back and forth in the water will further stress fish, increase the level of physical touching, and can increase post-release mortality. Only delay the release of fish if they appear nearly dead or have lost full equilibrium (i.e. can’t stay upright).
Avoid small fish
• Move fishing locations or increase the size of lures to limit interactions with smaller (e.g. sub-legal) fish as these fish are more susceptible to injuries and mortality associated with fishing interactions.
For more information, visit the following links:
https://psf.ca/blog/catch-and-release/
https://www.sportfishing.bc.ca/release-them-right
“See you out on the water,” Zinn said.
Photo — Submitted
Port McNeill University of BC PhD candidate Kaitlyn Zinn assesses caudal fin damage on a Chinook Salmon.