A call comes over all salmon. An instinctual trigger they cannot ignore, leading them back to the place of their birth and, soon, of their death.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e been spending their life out in the ocean for three to four years, sometimes five, growing to be big adult salmon, defeating all the odds against them,B次元官网网址� naturalist and manager of the Goldstream Nature House Tracey Bleackley explains. B次元官网网址淥nce that trigger has gone off they stop eating and theyB次元官网网址檙e just swimming. TheyB次元官网网址檙e just heading here.B次元官网网址�

Goldstream River is one of the last on the Vancouver Island coast to have its salmon run, primarily because of its southern location. For tourists and residents alike, however, itB次元官网网址檚 one of the most accessible and well known spots to see this circle of nature in action, drawing thousands of people to its banks.

After the journey south, achieved through scent, sight and a natural ability to find magnetic north, the salmon begin to make their way up the river when the temperature drops, the rain increases and leafs start dropping from the trees, releasing tannins into the water, the scent from which is another sign for the salmon to start swimming.

The females begin to swim against the current of the river as they search for the exact spot they were born. They can get within a metre of their own birthplace, using scent to pinpoint the location.

They being to dig holes to lay eggs in as the males begin to fight one another for fertilization rights.

B次元官网网址淭here are probably one female for every four male,B次元官网网址� Bleackley said. B次元官网网址淪o thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of fighting.B次元官网网址�

Fertilization happens at night. The female sinks into her nest, about one foot deep now, and leaves her eggs, at which point the dominant male has 15 seconds to fertilize them before the eggs are ruined.

ItB次元官网网址檚 this entire spectacle which causes the parking lot of Goldstream Park to spill over to the sides of the Trans-Canada Highway every autumn.

While Bleackley loves that so many people come to the park to see the salmon, she also feels protective of her finned friends and does her best to make sure people know not to interfere.

Bleackley said she gets emotionally involved in the salmonsB次元官网网址� plight every year.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the ups and downs. You love to have the salmon here but it also brings in a lot of people, so it means being a voice for the salmon too,B次元官网网址� Bleackley said. B次元官网网址淣ot only are we educating people about the conservation and how amazing this natural phenomenon is right outside our back door, weB次元官网网址檙e also educating them about the proper etiquette on the river.B次元官网网址�

Once the eggs are hatched the salmonB次元官网网址檚 purpose in life has come to an end and, with it, their life. Both the male and female fish, having laid and fertilized all the eggs they can, die.

B次元官网网址淭hat part of the story is a little sad when people first learn about it,B次元官网网址� Bleackley said. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 pretty crucial as well.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 far from the end, though. What park staff refer to as B次元官网网址渢he clean up crewB次元官网网址� begins its work. Multiple species of birds and mammals, including hundred of eagles and some bears and wolves, make their way to the river to feast on the dead fish.

The rotting carcasses, sometimes dragged miles inland, also go on to fertilize the surrounding forest. Nutrients from the open ocean can be found in Goldstream Park trees from this process.

B次元官网网址淓verything that exists around a salmon run is because of salmon,B次元官网网址� Bleackley said. B次元官网网址淓verything in the park is connected to salmon.B次元官网网址�

Long after the scavengers have left, as the sun moves closer to our part of the world and the waters of Goldstream River begin to warm up in the early days of spring, the labours of the prior fall begin to pay off. The eggs begin to hatch, first into alevin, and then into fry, thousands of them, wiggling their way out of the gravel to begin their trip to the open ocean, ready to face a dangerous life in the hopes of starting the entire process over again.

Out of every 4,000 salmon eggs hatched, about the maximum a single female salmon can lay, four will make it back to the river to procreate.

Etiquette

The salmon are not used to the confined space of the river, having come from the open ocean, and are startled easily. Even a leaf falling off a tree can scare a salmon the point where it has a heart attack and dies.

Visitors are asked not to wear bright colours, to leave umbrellas at home, to not throw anything into or across the river and to keep dogs well away.

Visiting

The best time to see the spawning is mid to late october, when the salmon begin their journey up the river. The exact timeframe depends on the weather. After the run, when all the mature salmon have died, is also an interesting, if not fragrant, time to visit.