Life History: Spawns in streams headed by lakes. Fry move immediately to lake for one to two years, then out to ocean for one to five years. Sockeye return to spend several months in the lake prior to spawning.

Shrimp Gourmets: All Pacific salmon feed on shrimp, but the pink crustacean is the mainstay of the sockeye diet. The result? A rich red colour, high oil content and superior taste-and the most valuable species in the salmon harvest. Sockeye were the first salmon to be canned in quantity, and continue to be the foundation of the canning industry.

Land-locked In The Lake: The sockeye is the only Pacific salmon that spends a major part of its life cycle in a lake. Young sockeye fry migrate immediately to a lake upon emerging from their gravel nest, and stay there for at least one year-sometimes even two or three. Some sockeye salmon, known as the "kokanee" are not anadromous at all-they spend their entire lives in and about freshwater lakes.

Longevity Leaders: Although many sockeye salmon spawn and die after a three or four-year life span, six-year-old sockeyes are in the majority in northern rivers, and eight-year-olds are not unknown.

Fraser River Favourite: In British Columbia, the main spawning grounds of the sockeye salmon are in the Fraser River system, with young salmon rearing in the Cultus, Adams, Harrison, Horsefly, Shuswap and Quesnet lakes.