Where to see Salmon spawning - Tips for spotting

Pacific Salmon are struggling to survive. From endangered Sakinaw Sockeye Salmon to threatened Interior Fraser Coho, about half of Pacific Salmon populations are in some state of decline, according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). On the Fraser River, Sockeye returns sunk to 293,000 fish in 2020, the lowest since record-keeping began. This year was supposed to be different. As a dominant year for the iconic Salmon species, the Pacific Salmon Commission initially forecast nearly 9.8 million Fraser Sockeye would return in 2022. And while that’s since been downgraded to 6.7 million fish, the spectacle of millions of individual salmon fighting the flow of BC's biggest river will go on.

Ending their life at sea, Salmon use their incredible keen sense of smell to trace the chemical signature of their home stream. As Pacific salmon return to their natal creeks, streams, and rivers to spawn, some will migrate more than 3,000 kilometers upstream, often jumping up to two meters over river obstacles.

Along the way, the migrating Salmon have fed humans and bears alike for millennia, their carcasses nourishing a vast ecosystem along the riverbanks, grasslands, and forest floors of B.C.

The Salmon swim against the current in the tributary to lay their eggs and reproduce. It’s the same area that they were born in. Those that do complete the journey will also inevitably die, but not before they lay a clutch of eggs to spawn the next generation — their own lifeless body feeding an aquatic ecosystem with nutrients.

From summer to early winter, Pacific Salmon return to rivers and streams around B.C. to spawn. This year, the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) has created an interactive Salmon spotting map pinpointing public viewing access areas across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Sea to Sky corridor, Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast, Southern Interior and Northern B.C. In total, there are 70 family-friendly locations where marked trails will lead people to an ideal viewpoint. As the return migration gets underway, Metro Vancouver’s North Shore is already seeing returns. Chinook, Chum, Pink, Sockeye and Coho Salmon runs are expected to last from September to December. We encourage everybody to come up and check it out, see the Salmon — they’re really cool. It’s a great fun and learning experience for the kids as well. We just say watch from a distance, be respectful, look but don’t touch.