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COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Okanagan Population in Canada

author Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
published year 2017
species Chinook
location Columbia River, British Columbia
subjects chinook, Columbia, Okanagan, status assessment
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Chinook Salmon (Salmonidae: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Walbaum) is one of seven species of the genus Oncorhynchus native to North America. This report assesses the status of the Chinook Salmon population within the Okanagan Watershed in British Columbia. The Okanagan Chinook population is part of a larger population complex that includes other summer and fall migrating ocean-type populations that spawn in the tributaries of the upper Columbia River in the U.S. The Okanagan Chinook population is the only remaining Columbia River Basin Chinook population in Canada. The Columbia River Basin group of populations is not only geographically separated from other Canadian Chinook populations, but is also genetically distinct from all other Chinook populations, reflecting deep phylogenetic divergence and local adaptation.