The Salmon's Incredible Journey By S L Lee At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

It never ceases to amaze me how the salmon can remember its exact birth place. After being hatched, the salmon spends all its life away from the place it was born. It spends three to four years in the ocean, only to return back to its gravel bed to spawn and die.

Every four years in Sep and Oct in British Columbia, Canada, specifically at Adams River, you get the opportunity to witness the sockeye salmon return to their home waters in millions to perform their spawning rituals and then die. You can expect two to three million sockeyes migrating upstream from the ocean. This year, 2006, is a dominant run. The previous dominant run was in 2002 where it was estimated that over 3.6 million sockeyes made this incredible journey.

It is truly an amazing experience to see the magical underlay of this ritual. During this period, the crystal clear water of Adams River is transformed into crimson red, not because of bodily fluid but because of the sheer number of sockeyes in the water. The adult spawning sockeyes have distinctive red bodies with olive green heads.

The life cycle of the salmon begins with spawning. The adult male and female sockeye pair up and spawn along the length of the river. The fertilised eggs remain in the river bed through winter and when spring arrives, the eggs hatch into new offspring. They are known as 'fry', measuring about 2-3cm in length. They then drift to the lakes nearby and spend about a year in the fresh water. At this point, only three out of four fry survive, mostly comsumed by predators. The survivors, by now, have grown to about 8-10 cm long. They then begin their 300 mile journey downstream into the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. The fish continue to grow for another three years in the Pacific, reaching an average weight of 6-7 pounds. Once they reached maturity, their biological clock tells them to commence the epic journey back to their home waters.

The homeward bound journey starts with adult sockeyes swimming their way from the Pacific Ocean (Johnstone Strait and Juan De Fuca Strait) to the mouth of Fraser River. From here, they have to endure another 300 miles before reaching their spawning grounds in Adams River. It is enduring because they are swimming upstream against opposing currents, rapids and other foes such as the bears and fishermen. It will take them about 18 days to reach their destination. By the time they get there, they are truly battered and exhausted.

By now, the male and female sockeye have paired off and found their nesting spot in shallow water. The female sockeye floats sideways (yes, horizontally) and flaps her tail. In a swift second, she deposits her eggs. Then the male swiftly completes the ritual by spraying its milt. He has less than 10 seconds because that's all the time needed for the eggs to naturally develop an impermeable covering. The female quickly covers the eggs with gravel. They continue their journey upstream and repeat the spawning rituals until exhaustion claims their lives. I was lucky enough to witness the spawning ritual, less than two feet away from where I was standing.

It is truly a miracle of nature where the selfless act of death leads to the birth of a new beginning.

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