Salmon
Salmon is a family of fish that has an anadromous lifecycle, they are closely related to trout, char and whitefish. In British Columbia, five Pacific salmon species can be found. They are chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon and chum salmon. In recent years, steelhead has also been included in this group due to its similar anadromous lifecycle.
Although majority of salmon species are anadromous, landlocked varieties can also be found. Kokanee, which are landlocked sockeye salmon, spend their entire life in lakes. Landlocked coho and chinook salmon also exist.
At the juvenile stage, salmon feed on insects in streams before migrating into the ocean. They spend several years feeding on baitfish such as herring and anchovy in the ocean before returning to their natal stream when they are ready to spawn. Once returning to their stream as spawners, salmon do not feed but are willing to bite out of aggression. Due to this behaviour, salmon can still be caught with bait, lure or fly in streams.