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Watch: 'Incredible' salmon spawning in Burnaby creeks

It's salmon spawning season!
salmon-spawn-burnaby
Chum salmon are spawning in Stoney Creek in Burnaby, B.C.

It's salmon spawning season!

With the rainy season finally beginning, it's great news for salmon making the long and arduous journey back to the place they were born. 

Renowned environmentalist and Burnaby resident Mark Angelo said the recent rains have been very positive in enabling salmon to move into local creeks.

"We're so lucky to live in a community that still has so many intact streams and then has a number of places where people can go and see salmon," Angelo said.

Video: Mark Angelo

"To get a closeup look at chum salmon returning and spawning right in the midst of our city, that's just an incredible thing to see."

The July-to-October drought delayed upstream migration for many salmon runs and also caused "mass die-offs of pink salmon on the Central Coast," according to a press release from Pacific Salmon Foundation.

You can spot salmon for about one or two more weeks before the season ends.

Where to spot salmon in Burnaby

  • Stoney Creek
  • Cariboo Dam at the east end of Burnaby Lake
  • Eagle Creek (Charles Rummel Park is a good viewing location)
  • Beecher Creek
  • Guichon Creek (behind the BCAA building on Willingdon Glen looking downstream is a good viewing spot)
  • Still Creek (on Gilmore across from Dick's Lumber looking upstream is often a good spot)
  • Buckingham Creek on the north side of the Deer Lake Beach parking lot) will often have chum return in early November.

You can also browse the PSF's salmon spawning map for more salmon spotting locations throughout B.C.

with files from Chris Campbell