Every fall, the coho, spring, sockeye and kokanee salmon return to their spawning grounds in the
Shuswap River gravel beds. The numbers of returning fish were on a steady until 1981 when local support kindled interest in a hatchery and interpretive centre. The Kingfisher Hatchery now conducts one of the most successful salmon enhancement programs in Canada. Some quarter million fish are raised to the alevin stage, when they are released into the river for their journey to the Pacific. The hatchery has a survival rate of 15%, well above the provincial average of 4%.