Interior Fraser Steelhead

Publication date: July 31, 2020

This page contains species information, management actions and reports that provide information on the Interior Frasier Steelhead.

In 2018, citing critically low spawning returns, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada concluded that Interior Fraser Steelhead were at imminent risk of extinction. Recognizing risks to steelhead populations, the government of B.C. has regulated catch-and-release-only fisheries for wild steelhead since 1997. The government of B.C. continues to actively pursue recovery through a range of efforts.

About steelhead

Steelhead are an anadromous form of the rainbow trout. This means they spend their juvenile life in freshwater (1-4 years) and then migrate to the ocean for 2-4 years before returning to their home streams to spawn. Steelhead are unique among the Pacific salmon in that they have the ability to spawn more than once (called iteroparity).

Steelhead are frequently found in systems that have freshwater resident populations of rainbow trout. Under the right conditions, steelhead can breed with resident rainbow trout with mixed outcomes. Offspring from this pairing can result in fewer steelhead produced but may also act as a potential repository for later steelhead production. This is an active area of research.

Identifying steelhead

After steelhead return from sea, adult steelhead are easy to distinguish from adult rainbow trout because steelhead are much bigger. For the purpose of implementing freshwater sport fishing regulations, steelhead/rainbow trout caught in steelhead bearing waterbodies are classified as steelhead if their fork length exceeds 50 cm.

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Image of steelhead trout, showing its fork length as 50cm or more, and no teeth in throat or back of tongue.

Learn more about Interior Fraser Steelhead (IFS) in Fast Facts: Population Risks and Trends (February 2023) (PDF, 365KB).

Management actions

For the Thompson watershed, the current spawning population forecast for 2025 is 536 (updated November 20, 2024). For the Chilcotin watershed, the 2025 current spawning population forecast was updated at the same time to 198. These forecasts rank as 38^th over a 48-year monitoring time frame for the Thompson watershed and 43^rd for the Chilcotin watershed over a 54-year monitoring time frame.

The classification of the Thompson watershed population is not definitive:

There is a 22% probability this sub-group will be classified as an Extreme Conservation Concern
There is a 76% probability it will be classified as a Conservation Concern
There is a 2% probability of classification as Routine Management

The Chilcotin population is also awaiting determination:

There is a 68% probability it will be classified as an Extreme Conservation Concern
There is a 31% probability of classification as a Conservation Concern
There is a 1% probability of classification as Routine Management

The B.C. government has been taking recovery actions for years. It is currently undertaking the development of a comprehensive population recovery plan, working with all parties who impact IFS.

The 2019-2021 BC Action Plan and Activities Report (PDF, 1.6MB) provides details on this work.

Test Fisheries

Interior Fraser Steelhead population estimates are informed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) test fisheries on the Fraser River.

Access more information on the federal government website:

Population Status Reports

Note: Fall estimates are based on DFO and PSC test fisheries and are forecasts for expected spawner returns for the following spring. Summer estimates are based on actual spawning ground counts.

2024/2025

Status update for Interior Fraser Steelhead (Test-fishing based November 20, 2024) (PDF 506KB)

2023/2024

2022/2023

2021/2022

2020/2021

2019/2020

2018/2019

2017/2018

2016/2017

Action plans and activities reports

Further reports

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