Anglers will again be allowed to fish for kokanee on Wood Lake this year after a count of spawners shows continuing recovery of their numbers.
The fishery, which was open year-round, was restricted after there was a significant increase in kokanee mortality in 2011.
The exact cause is unknown but low oxygen levels in unusually warm water that year is suspected.
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The provincial government reports more than 34,000 kokanee returned to Wood Lake tributaries in 2017 to lay their eggs.
That’s about 2,000 fewer than last year.
The 67,000 spawning fish counted this year for Kalamalka Lake is the highest return on record.
The ten-year average is 20,000.
The 182,500 Okanagan Lake spawners is about the ten-year average.
However, the number is a marked decrease from the 336,500 fish counted in 2015.
Kokanee and sockeye numbers in Skaha Lake added up to 32,000.
Kokanee are land-locked sockeye salmon found in all of the Okanagan valley’s main lakes.
The Wood Lake fishery is open from April 1 to August 31.
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