Baby fish (Photo 15075735 © Alena Brozova | Dreamstime.com)

By Liam Verster

Lower Vernon and Six Mile creeks

Salmon fry to be released in area creeks

May 8, 2023 | 11:56 AM

The Okanagan Indian Band is set to host the release of salmon fry at two area creeks.

The Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) stated in a release the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) will release the sockeye salmon into Okanagan Lake via Lower Vernon Creek and Six Mile Creek.

The Vernon Creek release is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, and the Six Mile Creek Release is set to go at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 10.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, OKIB Chief Byron Louis stated this is part of a salmon reintroduction effort for Okanagan Lake that dates back to 1995.

“That’s all species of salmon. That’s your sockeye, your chinook, your coho, your steelhead and others back into their habitat which was Okanagan Lake,” Louis said.

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“This fry release comes from [the Okanagan Nation Alliance] hatchery that’s located in Penticton and this is owned by the seven Okanagan bands.”

Louis noted the sockeye release is part of the greater effort to restore all salmon species in Okanagan Lake in future years, noting this is a natural habitat for the fish.

“At a minimum they talk about Okanagan Lake being able to support one- to four-million sockeye, and it can actually go higher,” Louis explained, adding salmon are considered a “key species.”

“You think of each one of these salmon and once they come in and spawn out in the streams, the small sack of nutrients that goes back into the system and the local stock’s residents and others are beneficiaries of that. It’s not just the salmon but the whole ecosystem.”

He added the number of other species of salmon could probably not reach those of sockeye in Okanagan Lake, but as the recovery efforts continue they will have a clearer picture on how many of each could survive in the local lake.

Louis speculated “10,000 fry or more” would be released at the events Tuesday and Wednesday, though could not provide exact figures. The ONA had not responded to a request for comment on the number of fish to be released locally as of time of publication.

The local releases mirror past OAN events where fry were put into Okanagan Lake via creeks and streams around the region, which Louis stated has already led to some recovery.

“We’re starting to see the returns coming back in,” Louis told Vernon Matters.

“I think it’s over 600-and-something kilometres just to get into the border and then it’s a distance coming back here, but they’re actually returning to spawn in greater numbers.”

The fry release events will be open to the public.

It was noted that the release dates are tentative and may be subject to change depending on current water temperatures.

The local fry releases are part of several planned by the OAN for communities around the Okanagan this May.