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This is the best spot in Mission to watch spawning salmon

Area hatchery prepares for miraculous return
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Good news: salmon are returning home to B.C.’s rivers and streams after their long journey.

And there is a good place for Mission residents to watch them.

Thanks to the Pacific Salmon Foundation interactive Salmon Spotting map (psf.ca), can witness one of nature’s most spectacular migrations.

From late summer to early winter in B.C., Pacific salmon return to creeks, streams, and rivers to spawn.

Pacific salmon are born in freshwater rivers, migrate to the ocean where they spend several years feeding and growing, then return to their natal stream as spawning salmon to reproduce and die.

In Mission, the foundation says you should visit the Norrish Creek and Inch Creek Hatchery at 38620 Bell Rd. to witness this miracle of nature. Adult chum and coho will be arriving in late October until December.

The foundation’s map includes more than 70 family-friendly locations with clearly marked trails and public viewing areas across Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Sea-to-Sky, Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast, Southern Interior, and Northern B.C.

RELATED: Excitement in B.C. Indigenous communities as salmon get past Fraser slide zone

You can also read safety tips to prepare for your visit, and share your favourite public-access salmon spotting location by submitting a location or using the #SalmonSpotting hashtag on social media.

Many communities along the Fraser River are currently seeing salmon returns. While some salmon runs started in the summer, various Chinook, chum, sockeye and coho salmon runs can be seen in the region from September through December.

“The opportunity to observe the journey and life cycle of Pacific salmon is nothing short of spectacular. We invite you to join us and witness the marvel,” said Michael Meneer, foundation president and CEO, in a news release. “Seeing salmon in our own communities emboldens us to take action and do everything in our power to take care of this iconic species. We can come together as People for Salmon to make a difference.”

FAST FACTS

• 2022 is a dominant year for Fraser River sockeye, meaning impressive return numbers are expected. Sockeye return in abundant numbers one in every four years.

• Pacific salmon are anadromous, meaning they reproduce in streams, but rear for a portion of their life in oceans, where they accumulate more than 99 per cent of their adult weight, before returning to freshwater to reproduce, or spawn, and culminate their life cycle.

• Pacific salmon return ‘home’ to their natal streams to reproduce. Adults return to the same streams that their parents used. Scientists believe that ‘homing’ is accomplished by tracing ‘pheromones’ or chemical signatures of the home stream. Salmon have an extremely keen sense of smell – they can smell chemicals down to one part per million.

• Salmon can migrate more than 3,000 kilometres upstream through freshwater to spawn. That is comparable to driving halfway across Canada.

Salmon can jump up to two metres to cross obstacles in rivers – the same height some Olympic athletes can jump.


@shinebox44
chris.campbell@missioncityrecord.com

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Chris Campbell

About the Author: Chris Campbell

I joined the Victoria News hub as an editor in 2023, bringing with me over 30 years of experience from community newspapers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley
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