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Pacific salmon are returning to rivers and streams in BC

A record-breaking year for salmon runs offers visitors a chance to see one of nature鈥檚 great migrations in real time
Darren Handschuh
sockeye-salmon-creditstuartwestmorland-corbisdocumentary-gettyimages
Sockeye salmonStuart Westmorland / Corbis Documentary / Getty Images

Pacific salmon are returning to rivers and streams in the BC Interior and there are places to watch the annual event.

Thanks to the Pacific Salmon Foundation's (PSF) interactive Salmon Spotting map, people can discover unique salmon spotting locations to witness one of nature’s most spectacular migrations, including the Okanagan.

“We’ve seen returning salmon already across the Interior, including a record-breaking sockeye salmon run in the Okanagan and the return of an adult Okanagan summer Chinook to Okanagan Lake for the first time in recent history,” said Chloe Fraser, with the foundation.

From late summer to early winter in 乌鸦传媒, Pacific salmon return to creeks, streams and rivers to spawn. Pacific salmon are born in freshwater rivers, migrate to the ocean where they spend several years feeding and growing, then return to their natal stream to reproduce and die.

PSF’s Salmon Spotting map shows the best public spots in the province to see this spectacle in the wild. The map includes more than 90 family-friendly locations with clearly marked trails and public viewing areas.

Salmon enthusiasts can also follow along on social media with the hashtag #SalmonSpotting and enter a contest at psf.ca for a chance to win a two-night hotel stay, a helicopter trip, and a whale watching adventure.

Salmon watchers can read safety tips to prepare for their visit and share their favourite public-access salmon spotting location by submitting a location or using the #SalmonSpotting hashtag on social media.

Mid-October to early November is a great time of year to see returning Chinook, sockeye, Kokanee, and coho salmon. With the recent rains, water levels can be high, so people are advised to be cautious near waterways.

Here is a list of places where you can spot salmon in the Southern Interior:

  • Adams River, Squilax, North Shuswap (near Kamloops)
  • Coldstream Park (Vernon)
  • Hardy Falls (Peachland)
  • Lower Seton Spawning Channel (Lillooet)
  • South Thompson River, Mill Park (Chase)
  • Kingfisher Interpretive Centre (Enderby)

“Pacific salmon overcome so many obstacles on their epic migration from ocean to stream,” says Michael Meneer, PSF President and CEO. “Getting out to local creeks and streams to see salmon return home is a chance to celebrate this iconic natural event and be part of protecting one of British Columbia’s keystone species.”

With support from PSF’s Community Salmon Program, the Okanagan Nation Alliance has offered Fish in Schools programming to thousands of school children in recent years.

This classroom initiative educates future generations of salmon stewards about the importance of salmon in the ecosystem and the necessity of reintroducing them to their native habitat in the Upper Columbia to which they have been blocked by dams since the mid-20th century.

Less than 30 years ago, Columbia River sockeye faced extinction, but community-driven efforts have led to record-breaking returns every year since 2022.