Salmon released as fry in BC return to the Columbia River
A salmon reintroduction initiative is being celebrated in B.C. after two tagged adult sockeye that were released as juvenile fry two years ago were found returning to the Columbia River.
The adult fish are two of 10,000 fry that were released near Castlegar as part of the Bringing the Salmon Home project. This project of the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative is led by the Silux Okanagan, Secwepem and Ktunaxa Nations in partnership with the federal government and the province.
Mark Thomas, Shuswap Band councilor and chairman of the initiative’s executive working group, said that while it may seem like a small number, its significance is huge.
“This shows that given the chance, these fish will find their own way and all they need to do is show other fish how, where to go, and they will follow,” Thomas said.
“If we were going to make a real restoration effort, we would be releasing millions of fish… The fact that we got two out of 10,000 fish back just blows us away.”
The Columbia River is 2,000 kilometers long, and originates in the Kootenay region of BC and flows into the ocean at Astoria, Ore.
One of the two sockeye was found near Wells Dam in Washington state, about 800 river kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Columbia River. The second was near Rocky Reach Dam, about 60 kilometers south of Wells Dam.
that’s about One said, currently fishing is allowed as far up the river as possible statement By Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative.
Salmon ‘virtually wiped out,’ says foundation.
The Salmon Restoration Initiative says there is no passage for the fish to the Columbia River at Chief Joseph Dam or Grand Coulee Dam, not far from where the two tagged salmon were detected.
According to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Columbia River Basin has historically supported returns of up to four million salmonBut development including 12 major dams “Having virtually eliminated salmon from most of the Canadian portion of the Columbia for over 80 years.”
Thomas said the lack of salmon in his area has greatly affected his people.
Thomas said, “Salmon was really the foundation of our lives. It was who we were.”
“We have been deprived of it for the last 86 years and it has caused great harm to our people, our ability to transfer knowledge, our ability to speak our languages, our ability to teach our children and our ability to show what those fish can do for us.”
The Bringing the Salmon Home initiative has received approximately $5.2 million through the second phase of the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, co-funded by BC and Canada.
