GordBlakeAward_JakevanRooyen_Sept2020
Jake van Rooyen’s dedication to conservation
recognized by OFAH
Bluewater Anglers Hatchery Manager named winner of Gord Blake Memorial Conservation Award
PETERBOROUGH – For many years, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has recognized the dedication of conservationists
across the province through the Gord Blake Memorial Conservation Award.
The 2020 recipient is Jake van Rooyen, a past president and current life member and Board of Director with the Bluewater
Anglers Hatchery in Point Edward, Ontario. He currently serves as the hatchery manager and was nominated for this award by the
OFAH Zone J Executive.
“We nominated Jake for the Gord Blake Award after he received the 2019 OFAH Zone J Outstanding Achievement Award for
his outstanding efforts towards stewardship, conservation and the promotion of angling and/or hunting in southwestern Ontario,”
says OFAH Zone J Chair Brian Moore. “His dedication to the hatchery and conservation as a whole made him a natural fit for this
award.”
For about 15 years van Rooyen’s efforts and commitment have helped pave the way for hatchery success, and while some
of his responsibilities are just now being moved around to other members of the hatchery, his meticulous nature and documenta-
tion of the tasks necessary to run a successful hatchery have helped immensely in the transition of some of the responsibilities that
come with trout and salmon. According to the hatchery website, they’ve raised and released about 150,000 Chinook Salmon each
year for the last 35 years and another 50,000 Rainbow Trout in each of the last five years.
The hatchery also maintains a public viewing area and feeding area where they bring about 3,000 people a year through to
see first-hand the experience related to how a hatchery operates.
In a 2018 article in the Sarnia Observer newspaper, van Rooyen noted that the success of the club’s endeavors was connect-
ed to the support of those within the community, in addition to the efforts of the hatchery members. van Rooyen, who spearhead-
ed the establishment of a school hatchery program in the Sarnia, has also been a past guest on OFAH’s Angler and Hunter Radio.
In that 2015 interview he spoke passionately about his reasons for dedicating so much of his time over the years to conserva-
tion and his ongoing appreciation for those who support the hatchery and its efforts.
“We have to step forward as sportsmen. Hunters, anglers, the rest of us, we have to look after our future,” he said.
This isn’t the first time that van Rooyen has been recognized for his efforts with the hatchery. In 2012 he was inducted into
the Sarnia Sports Hall of Fame and was presented with a Builder Award, which recognizes significant contributions in the establish-
ment of a sport from its infancy to the mature state within the community.
OFAH representatives will present van Rooyen with his award on Sept. 29.
With 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 725-member clubs, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
is the leading non-profit fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario. For more information visit us online at
www.ofah.org, follow us on Twitter @ofah and find us on Facebook or Instagram @theofah.
For more information, contact:
Brian Moore, Chair of OFAH Zone J
519-919-1520
—–
Shawn Cayley, OFAH Manager of Communications
705-748-6324 Su