On August 30th, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA), with our Bringing the Salmon Home: The Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative (CRSRI) partners, Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC), Secwépemc Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the BC Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship performed a second release of adult sc’win (sockeye salmon) to the Arrow Lakes. This time we were able to release 41 adult sc’win, bringing the total to 57 adult sc’win released to the Arrow Lakes in 2024.
As with the first release in July, these salmon were released as a part of our work towards kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ (cause to come back). The Arrow Lakes historically produced many adult sockeye salmon before access was blocked by the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. The sockeye were released with acoustic tracking tags that will allow us to track the fish as they migrate through the lake, hopefully homing to spawning tributaries and showing us the way home. It is possible that these fish will survive to spawn and produce natural-origin sockeye salmon from the Arrow Lakes for the first time in 85 years!
From the 16 fish released as part of the first group in July, we have observed exploratory behaviour with all fish being detected outside of the release area. We had 5 individuals migrate 130 km up the Arrow Lakes to nqwaysp (Nakusp), with the first fish arriving there on July 20th, 9 days after release. One fish was detected further up the Lake at qwspíc’aʔ (Arrowhead), 6 days later on July 26th, 185 km from Hugh L Keenleyside Dam. We hope to continue observing exploratory behaviour in the released sockeye in preparation for potential spawning in October.
This work continues to be monumental for the Syilx Nation as adult sc’win are freely swimming in the Arrow Lakes for the first time since 1938. It is our hope that these fish will provide us with data to inform future sockeye fry releases and continue building the story that salmon reintroduction is possible in the Canadian Reaches of the Columbia River.
For More Info:
Patrick Zubick, Fisheries Biologist, Columbia Region
pzubick@syilx.org or 250-687-4697