Today we're sharing the who, what, where, when and why YOU should experience the salmon run in Toronto this fall.
Living in Alaska for three years, seeing the salmon migrate to their spawning grounds each year was not something out of the ordinary. In fact, we kind of took it for granted.
But now, living in the big city like Toronto? It's a unique experience that some don't even know about.
Well, it's time you DO! And I'm here to share the who, what, where, when and why YOU should see the salmon run in Toronto this fall.
More than a century ago, Atlantic salmon were commonly found in Lake Ontario and its rivers. With European settlement came an increase in negative impacts on aquatic habitat, such as deforestation, pollution and development. As a result, salmon populations drastically decreased, and by 1898, they were extirpated (locally extinct/disappeared) from Lake Ontario.
Throughout the past century Chinook and Coho salmon (both Pacific species) have been introduced to Lake Ontario to enhance recreational fishing, and can now be seen in large numbers in the Greater Toronto Area's (GTA) rivers during fall migration. Recent years have also seen renewed and significant efforts to bring back the native Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario.
So what's the deal with the yearly migration? Why do animals migrate? Some animals migrate, or travel distances, to find food or more favourable living or breeding conditions. Think birds flying south for the winter, for example.
For salmon, migration is a big part of their life cycle. Locally, adult salmon spend their life in Lake Ontario. When they come "of age", they migrate (or "run") up streams connected to the lake to spawn. During a salmon run, females will dig broad, shallow nests (also called redds) into the gravel, choosing to lay their eggs in areas where there is fast-flowing, fairly deep waters. The females will then guard their redd for up to 4 weeks, before dying. An adult female can lay as many as 5,000 eggs during this time! About 3 months after fertilization, the eggs hatch. After a few more months, the fry (aka baby salmon) begin to swim, and over the next 1 to 3 years they remain in the stream feeding on invertebrates, continuing to grow. About 3 years into their life cycle, they become smolts and are now ready to swim back down stream to Lake Ontario. Smolts will stay in the lake for another 1 to 3 years and grow into adults. Then, the life cycle starts all over again.
So now that you know the science behind their life cycle and why they migrate, where and when can you see this salmon run take place?
Salmon runs occur in all of Ontario's Great Lakes, and take place in early September to November when temperatures are between 3 degrees C and 10 degrees C.
In the GTA, there are several places where you can observe salmon migrating up streams and rivers:
Humber River
Etiene Brule Park - 13 Crosby Avenue, York
Don River
Charles Sauriol Conservation Area - 1191 Lawrence Ave East, Toronto
Highland Creek
Morningside Park - 390 Morningside, Scarborough
Rouge River
Glen Rouge Campground - 7450 Kingston Road, Scarborough
Duffins Creek
Whitevale Park - 371 Whitevale Road, Pickering
Bowmanville Creek
Bowmanville Creek Fish Ladder - 35 Roenigk Drive, Bowmanville
Credit River
Erindale Park - 1695 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
This past weekend, we ventured to Highland Creek in Morningside Park, Scarborough (390 Morningside Ave, Scarborough, ON) in search of the salmon run. Typically at this time of year, they are hosting their annual Salmon Festival. However, thanks to the pandemic, the festival has become a virtual celebration. Fortunately enough for us, you can still visit the park and see the salmon for yourself.
From the main parking lot, we ventured west along Highland Creek. Despite keeping a close eye on the creek, we weren't seeing much movement. Well, except that huge beaver that was sitting on the bank, cleaning itself. The fall colours were stunning, BUT it was a bit rainy, and the girls were starting to lose patience. After walking for about 15 minutes, we came to a bridge over the river. We looked down and there they were... one salmon here, one salmon there. Then we looked further up river, and you could see them jumping out of the water. We knew we had to get THERE. So we turned back and picked up a different trail, taking us right to an area that was being restored as salmon habitat.
We had finally found the salmon we came in search of. Mom breathed a sigh of relief for not leading everyone astray, and the girls got to witness these massive fish doing their thing.
Next time, we'll make sure to pack our rubber boots though.
I will agree, this salmon run was a little different than what we were used to in Alaska, BUT it was still pretty amazing to see Mother Nature at work. And in the middle of the biggest city of Canada, at that.
Have you gone to see the salmon run in Toronto? Or anywhere else? Where and when did you go? I'd love to hear!
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