Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 928 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Hyatt, D. 2010. An overview of the Okanagan Watershed Fish-and-Water Management Tools (FWMT) project. Canadian Okanagan Basin Technical Working Group. |
| Organization | Canadian Okanagan Basin Technical Working Group |
| URL | http://www.obtwg.ca/reports/FWMT_Oview_2010.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | In the Okanagan River and its associated valley bottom lakes, resident and anadromous fishes have been the focus of important harvest activities by human populations for thousands of years. However, after little more than a century of intensive agriculture and urban development, sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are one of the few remaining populations of several species of sea-going salmonids (sockeye, chinook, coho, chum and steelhead salmon) that once supported seasonal food-fisheries (e.g. at Okanagan Falls) by aboriginal peoples in the Okanagan valley. Although not currently listed as endangered, annual returns of sockeye to the Okanagan River are frequently insufficient to support even modest levels of harvest by aboriginal peoples (Hyatt and Rankin 1999). Similarly, prior to their dramatic declines in the 1980s, ﾓlandlockedﾔ kokanee (O. nerka) in Okanagan L. supported an important sport fishery (Ashley and Shepherd 1995) valued at more than a million dollars annually. Given their biological, social, economic and cultural significance, Okanagan L. kokanee and Okanagan R. sockeye salmon are the subjects of several significant stock and habitat restoration initiatives. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Okanagan |
| Sub-watershed if known | |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | Kim Hyatt |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |