A project in British Columbia is celebrating a successful salmon reintroduction effort as two adult sockeye, previously released as juvenile fry two years ago, were detected returning up the Columbia River. These two fish are part of a group of 10,000 fry that were released near Castlegar under the Bringing the Salmon Home project, led by the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative in collaboration with the Syilx Okanagan, Secwépemc, and Ktunaxa nations, along with governmental partners.
Mark Thomas, a Shuswap Band councillor and head of the initiative’s executive working group, highlighted the significance of this achievement, emphasizing that even though the number seems small, it carries immense importance. Thomas expressed his belief that given the chance, the fish will navigate their way back, with one leading the others to their destination.
The Columbia River, stretching 2,000 kilometers from the Kootenay region of B.C. to Astoria, Oregon, witnessed one sockeye detected nearly 800 river kilometers upstream near Wells Dam in Washington State, and the other close to the Rocky Reach Dam, about 60 kilometers south of Wells Dam. The initiative remarked that fish passage currently ceases at this point.
The salmon restoration initiative noted the absence of fish passageways beyond the Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam, stating that historical development, including the construction of 12 major dams, has severely impacted the salmon population in the Canadian section of the Columbia River for over 80 years. The Pacific Salmon Foundation highlighted that the region once supported returns of up to four million salmon.
Thomas emphasized the profound impact of the dwindling salmon population on his community, stressing the cultural and practical significance of salmon in their way of life. The Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative has received approximately $5.2 million in funding from the B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund’s second phase, jointly supported by the British Columbia and Canadian governments.