The Life of Animals | Sockeye salmon | Sockeye salmon ranges as far south as the Columbia River in the eastern Pacific (though individuals have been spotted as far south as the 10 Mile River on the Mendocino Coast of California) and northern Hokkaidō Island in Japan in the western Pacific, and as far north as Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west. Nantahala Lake is the only spot in North Carolina where Kokanee salmon are found. Sockeye spawn mostly in streams having lakes in their watershed. The young fish, known as fry, spend up to three years in the freshwater lake before migrating to the ocean.
Some fish spend as long as four years in fresh water lakes before migrating. In rivers without lakes, many of the young move to the ocean soon after Hatching. The return Abundance (population) of Fraser River sockeye in 2009 was estimated at a very low 1,370,000, 13% of the pre-season forecast of 10,488,000. The Reasons for this (former) decline REMAIN speculative. The evidence indicated this reduced productivity Occurred after the juvenile fish began Their migration to the ocean.
Astonishingly, the number of sockeye returning to British Columbia was around 30 million in 2010, the largest sockeye run in 97 years, in bizarre contrast to the low Unexpectedly run in 2009. The Abundance of sockeye stocks in 2010 are estimated to be over 260% higher than the predicted 11.4 million salmon. Sockeye is an exception to 2010's forecast Oregonian Resurgence of fish stocks. The sockeye population peaked at over 200.000 in 2008 and were forecast to decline to just over 100 000 in 2010. As an early indication of the Unexpectedly high sockeye run in 2010, on July 2, 2010, the United States Army Corps of Engineers reported over 300 000 That sockeye had passed over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia river. Lower temperatures in 2008 in North Pacific waters Brought fatter plankton which, along with the Greater outflows of Columbia River water, feeding the resurgent Populations
Proposed Legislative Efforts Such as the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act are Attempting to protect the Headwaters of the sockeye salmon by Preventing industrial development in roadless areas. U.S. sockeye salmon Populations are currently listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service as an endangered species in the Snake River (Idaho, Oregon and Washington area) and as a Threatened species in Lake Ozette, Washington. Other sockeye Populations in the upper Columbia River and in Puget Sound (Washington) are not listed under the Act.
