Construction at the mouth of the Tranquille River in September by the Pacific Salmon Foundation to restore access for spawning pink salmon to spawning beds.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Pacific Salmon Foundation/ Facebook

Kamloops resident Kallan Bellamy said he is “disturbed” after observing three young adults harming spawning salmon moving up Tranquille River from the Thompson River a few days ago.

“They (young adults) were snagging the fish that were trying to swim up the creek and one guy had a salmon on his line, forcefully pulling it out of the water and repeatedly slamming it on the ground,” Bellamy said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The area is off the beaten path near the former Tranquille Sanitorium in Cooney Bay, and is frequented by people walking their dogs, hiking or taking photos. It’s a favourite walking area for Bellamy, who is a longtime Kamloops resident. The Pacific Salmon Foundation recently cleared a channel to connect the creek to the river to allow migrating pink salmon through a fluvial fan of debris that had collected there.

Bellamy said he approached the young people at the mouth of the creek on Saturday, Oct. 1 and took action.

“One kid walked away so I approached the two others, I was angry,” he said. “They were pretty shook up and they packed up and left. This was just cruelty to animals.”

Bellamy phoned the Conservation Officer Services RAPP line which directed him to Fisheries and Oceans department and he made a report of the incident.

“I was too upset to think about it at the time but I should have gotten their license plate and a photo to give on the report,” he said. “I feel like because of the location people will be curious and the spawning channel is very small which puts it in danger of people potentially obstructing the salmon’s ability to spawn safely.”

Bellamy said there are signs in the area alerting the public of the salmon habitat and stakes and tape around the channel.

The salmon have been moving up creeks to lay eggs in the Kamloops area and throughout the Okanagan for the past month and will continue for another week.

Sockeye salmon are moving up the Adams River in the Shuswap, while kokanee salmon are moving up deep creek in Peachland and Mission Creek in Kelowna. 

The Pacific Salmon Foundation funded four emergency projects in the province last month to help salmon get to spawning grounds after drought conditions caused low or dried up channels. This project included digging groundwater refuge areas for fish in the Coldwater River near Merritt and re-establishing water flow between the upper and lower sections of the Tranquille River.

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It is only legal to fish for chinook salmon from Kamloops Lake between Aug. 28 and Sept. 22 and for pink salmon from Kamloops Lake between Sept. 1 and Sept. 22, according to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website. 

Those fishing for salmon have to be carrying a valid licence with a valid salmon conservation stamp attached to it in order to catch and keep the fish.

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It is illegal to trap or pen fish in their spawning ground or in rivers or streams that lead to spawning grounds.

— With files from the Canadian Press

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