More than 630 students from more than 20 schools in two different districts from Penticton, to Osoyoos and Keremeos, along with a couple hundred community members gathered together for one of the largest salmon fry releases yet for the region.
This year marked the first time the ceremony was held at Skaha Lake, and the start of the third decade of salmon fry releases with the Okanagan Nation Alliance Fishery.
The number of students and schools in recent years had grown too much for the traditional release location on the banks of the River Channel near Green Mountain Road, forcing the ceremony to relocate.
"I am just so happy and so grateful that we have all of our children that will participate in this annual event. Your presence here is so meaningful," Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel said. "To our elders and to the leaders, you will be the ones that will be taking this responsibility on for years to come."
Members of local bands, Chief Keith Crow of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, and representative of the Colville Confederated Tribes Joe Peone, attended and participated in the release.
"These days are awesome and it goes to our partnerships that we have with our family across the border, other people that we work with on the Columbia River Treaty, all the negotiations, the Columbia River Salmon Restoration Initiative," Crow said. "I'm so proud of our nation and everything that they do."
Students from schools in Districts 53 and 67 arrived by bus and lined up to take their turns releasing the fry into the lake.
The release of the salmon fry is just one part of efforts by the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) to bring the population back to their traditional waters.
Earlier in 2025, another ceremony was held at the Okanagan Lake Dam at the top of the River Channel to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new fish passage that will provide salmon access to more than 350 square kilometres of habitat for the keystone species that had been cut off for nearly 100 years.
Across the entire syilx territory, the goal is to release 5.35 million sockeye salmon fry in 2025. The release at Skaha Lake was first of seven ceremonial releases being held, with further mass releases being done by ONA Fisheries staff.
This year the ONA is also planning to release 9,400 Chinook fry into the water, as they work to reintroduce that species back to its traditional territory.
Last year saw the highest count of salmon return to Osoyoos Lake since the salmon releases began, and it also saw the first documented return of a Chinook salmon.
The upcoming ceremonial releases and their locations are listed below:
* mɬəɬt́pmuscin, Lower Vernon Creek – May 6, 2025 10:00am at Marshall Fields Dog Park
* kiʔláwnaʔ, Kelowna– May 7, 2025 10:00 a.m. at Rotary Beach Park
* sənƛ̓uxuxtan, Six Mile Creek – May 8, 2025 10:00 a..m. by Okanangan Indian Band Fire Hall
* snɬuxwqnm, Castlegar – May 13, 2025 10:00 a.m. at Millennium Park
* takliʕaickst, Slocan Lake – May 13, 2025 2:00 p.m. at Village of Slocan Boat Ramp
* snkx̌ykntn, Revelstoke – May 14, 2025 10:00 a.m. at Centennial Park Boat Launch
