Kokanee numbers keep rising in Okanagan

OKANAGAN – Kokanee numbers are up from last year in all of the big valley lakes, the provincial government says.

Wood Lake’s kokanee population continues to recover from a disastrous 2011 when poor in-lake conditions lead to a huge increase in fish mortality of all ages, according to a media release.

Over 20,000 returned to spawn in Middle Vernon Creek, the main tributary of Wood Lake, double the number from previous years and enough for the ministry to continue the kokanee fishery next year from April 1 to Aug. 31.

In Okanagan Lake, the number of spawners was up over 80,000 from last year to 336,500, the highest return since 1992 when annual counts began. Of those, stream spawning kokanee totalled 31,500.

In Kalamalka Lake, the ministry says kokanee numbers have reached 36,500, almost double the 10-year average return of 20,000 fish.

Kokanee are land-locked salmon found in all the main Okanagan valley lakes. In recent years, their dwindling numbers have prompted fishery closures by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Naturals Resource Operations.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.