Goldstream River Salmon Run Begins

Sunday turned out to be another beautiful fall day – sunny and quite warm. Paulette was heading down to Victoria right after lunch to go to a special ‘invitation-only’ sale at the Cloth Castle - her favorite Quilt shop.  So, I thought I’d take an early morning drive down to Goldstream Park to see if the annual salmon spawning run had started.

Salmon ready the gravel bed in the river before depositing eggs  

Walking down to the river, I could see a lot of people crowded around the banks, so I knew right away that their must be some spawning activity.  I was really surprised to see just how many salmon were in the river as it’s still very early.  It’ll be at least another 2 to 3 weeks before the salmon run hits it’s peak.

Coho Salmon fighting their way upstream against the current

The river levels have risen dramatically since the last time Paulette and I were here just a few weeks ago. Since then, we’ve luckily had some rain, including a couple of pretty good downpours, so there’s definitely enough water in the river to allow the salmon to fight their way upstream.

Taking a rest before heading upstream again

And fighting their way upstream is definitely the word for it. Not only do the salmon have to swim against a very strong current, they have to climb their way up over rocks and rapids to boot. Watching them, the salmon lurk in shallow pools, then suddenly dart out with amazing speed and just launch themselves upstream and with their tails swinging rapidly, just propel themselves over the rapids and continue plowing upstream.

Another short video which shows salmon spawning activity

If they don’t make it on the first try, they simply go back to the waiting pool, rest and try again until they do make it. The unfortunate part is, that after all this hard work, the salmon spawn and then die. Already, there are carcasses of dead salmon along the bank of the river. It’s nothing like it will be in a few more weeks though when the river will be packed with thousands of salmon.  The dead salmon become food for the hundreds of bald eagles, and other predators, who gather for the salmon run each year.

Unfortunately, after the spawning process is over, the salmon die

The Goldstream Park crews really have their work cut out for them at this time of the year. Thousands of visitors flock to the river just to get a glimpse of this natural spectacle, and while the parks staff welcomes this, they also have a responsibility to ensure that no one interferes with nature and that the salmon are left free to spawn without any unwanted intervention.

The spawning process is visible everywhere along the river

After watching the salmon at Goldstream River, I walked along a different path that took me up the Niagara River to Little Niagara Falls. I’ve written a few previous blogs about Niagara which included pictures of the bone dry creek bed. That’s changed now, and I’ll show you how in my blog tomorrow.

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Have a great Monday, and thanks for visiting!