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Largest Sockeye Salmon run in recorded history expected this year on the Fraser River

Back in 2010 I took our readers on a trip near the town of Salmon Arm to the Adams River salmon run, which is an adventure that can only be described as a religious experience for folks like myself who worship Mother Nature.

Back in 2010 I took our readers on a trip near the town of Salmon Arm to the Adams River salmon run, which is an adventure that can only be described as a religious experience for folks like myself who worship Mother Nature. In the 80's my parents took me to experience this wonderful display of hers and in THIS POST I shared a bit of what it was like when a record number of sockeye returned.

During that time 4 years ago everyone was SHOCKED AND AMAZED at the fact that 34 million sockeye returned to spawn, beginning their journey by entering the Fraser River. It was an unprecedented number and this species (which David Suzuki once described to me as "magical", basically beyond scientific explanation) are surprising us once again as they're expected to come back in numbers that boggle the mind: more than twice the amount that returned in 2010 are predicted to return to the Fraser River in 2014, in what will likely amount to the largest run ever recorded. 72 MILLION is the most generous number offered so far.

 Overview of the Adams River in 2010. Photo: Jamie Heath, Terrasaurus Aerial Photography Ltd.Photo: Jamie Heath, Terrasaurus Ltd.

 As we all learned in school, salmon die at the end of their spawning journey. Without careful management by the fisheries there could be so many this year that they clog the river and prevent others from spawning. Photo: courtesy PSFPhoto: courtesy PSF

Leading up to the run (which happens in the fall), we'll be keeping you up to speed on places where you can view the salmon. The best place is in Roderick Haig-Brown Park, where I brought you in that 2010 piece, and where both photos in this feature were taken.