ABC Wednesday

K is for Kokanee




If you are a quick listener this video about salmon spawning is most interesting, - if not, relax and enjoy the scenery and the picture images.

The Okanagan and North Thompson areas in British Columbia are famous for their spawning streams and rivers.  In September and October each year the local creeks, such as the one in Hardy Falls National Park near Peachland, are bright with  Kokanee returning to their place of birth to spawn, and then to die.

Creeks of all sizes are full of this desperate stream of fish, struggling against the flow to reach their spawning grounds.

The Adams River, which flows out of the Adams lake is home to the worlds largest Sockeye and Kokanee salmon run. 

A watchful eye is kept on the returning salmon run, and when it is at its peak in September or October the riverbank is crowded with onlookers to this most amazing and colourful migration.

This is not an easy journey and there are many obstacles in the way of the homecoming fish.  To assist the Kokanee and other salmon to reach their destination 'fish ladders' have been built and installed in especially difficult spots.

Fish Ladders on the Fraser River

Fish ladders built on the Fraser River have enabled millions of salmon to overcome a physical barrier, demonstrating the value of fish ladders as an effective way to modify dams. Though the Fraser River mainstem has never been dammed, human carelessness caused a near-blockage of the river in 1913. In that year, rock debris from railway construction at Hell's Gate stopped thousands of salmon from travelling up the Fraser's mainstem to spawn. Salmon runs on the Upper Fraser were decimated in the years that followed. In 1946, Canadian and American funds were used to build elaborate fish ladders at Hell's Gate, which saved many runs from extinction and allowed fish stocks to rebuild. Though the ladders were built to overcome a human blunder, they illustrate the good that can come when people intervene to improve fish passage upstream. Thanks in part to these efforts, the Fraser is still the greatest salmon river on earth. from the Internet.... On a more personal note, amongst the first stories Charles told me about his home and the Okanagan Valley was the autumn adventures on small spawning streams that flowed from the hills of the Okanagan into the lake. They called the fish 'Kickaninnies', and if the creek was small enough the boys could stand with a foot on each side and bending over scoop up the fish with their hands. For more stories about the letter K visit here, at ABC Wednesday. Fish ladders on the Fraser River at Hell's Gate. (Photo: Rick