Wednesday November 26, 2025
CFJC —
KAMLOOPS — For decades, steelhead trout populations have been declining, but a recent report from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship has 2025 as the worst year on record for the spawning population in both the Thompson and Chilcotin Rivers. The ministry is forecasting the spawning population in the Chilcotin at fewer than nine steelhead, while the Thompson sits at fewer than 19.
Steelhead trout travel up the Fraser River from the Pacific Ocean to the outlet of Kamloops Lake to find their spawning grounds. However, zero steelhead were captured this year in test fisheries, leading to the estimate of fewer than 19 in the Thompson watershed.
“This has been going on for quite some time. I would say the populations have declined over about 40 years, definitely since the ’80s,” said biologist Robert Bison, who authored the report for the ministry. “They have been at these kinds of levels, I would say, for the last 10 years or so.”