Okanagan Nation Alliance reconnects sockeye salmon to Okanagan Lake

The Okanagan Nation Alliance restored access to Okanagan Lake for sockeye salmon and other fish species in British Columbia, Canada.

This work follows the completion of a new fish passage that allows salmon to bypass the Okanagan Lake Dam at Penticton. The dam had blocked these routes since 1953, preventing fish from reaching more than 350 square kilometers of lake habitat. The Okanagan Nation Alliance manages one of the largest Indigenous-led fisheries programs in Canada.

Their fisheries team spent more than two decades working to reconnect the lake to the river system. The new passage functions as a nature-like channel rather than a metal ladder. It features a grate on top to allow sunlight into the water and an adjustable barrier to block invasive species while letting native fish pass through.

The project is part of a larger restoration effort started in the 1990s that includes habitat projects and a sockeye reintroduction program at Skaha Lake. The Alliance also operates a conservation hatchery to raise sockeye fry for release into historical spawning areas. While the Alliance expects fish returns to remain modest initially due to warm river conditions, the passage will remain open for all future migration seasons.