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A sockeye salmon jumps

Welcome back the return of sockeye salmon throughout October with the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) and the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

The organizations are hosting two "Celebrate Our Salmon" open houses next month.

Participants can come to the Okanagan River Restoration Initiative site just north of Oliver on Saturday, Oct. 8 or to the Okanagan River Restoration Initiative spawning beds at the Okanagan Lake dam just south of Okanagan Lake in Penticton on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The public is invited to celebrate the return of sockeye salmon coming home after a 6000-kilometre journey to the ocean and back.

The events with have interpreters present to talk about the life cycle of the sockeye salmon, the challenges these fish face as they travel through different habitats and the efforts to restore spawning habitat in Oliver and Penticton.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance fishery department is anticipating that 670,000 sockeye to return to the Columbia River, with 80 per cent of those heading to the Okanagan waters north of Osoyoos, according to Richard Bussanich, ONA's head fish biologist.

There should be ample opportunity to witness salmon spawning at the events or throughout the river and creek channels in the Okanagan.

The events will go ahead rain or shine. For more information contact Paul Lockington at 250-492-5275 or [email protected]