If the efforts are successful, the salmon will return to the creek to spawn.

The salmon returned in the winter of 1953/4; they homed on their release sites.

Before the dam was built, in many years, over twenty thousand salmon would return to the river to spawn.

The salmon never returned to Narooma and the cannery was closed.

Much of the salmon returning to Alaska hatcheries is not edible.

It's like salmon returning to their birthplace, but with fewer spawning opportunities.

"We really don't know what the oil's effect might be on adult salmon returning to spawn," Kuwada said.

The adult salmon then return primarily to their natal streams to spawn.

The salmon returned in dribbles of 200 to 300 each year, peaking at 529 in the early 80's.

Final counts show that approximately 30 million salmon returned to the Fraser River and its tributaries in 2010.