Tag Archives: Okanagan Lake
Body pulled from Okanagan Lake believed to be captain of fishing boat
Both men who died in a surprise wind storm on July 24 were likely pulled from a pair of Okanagan lakes on the same day. On Wednesday, the body of 26-year-old kayaker Eli Buruca was finally recovered from Kalamalka Lake. “The deceased is believed to be the 55-year old man who went missing when his boat capsized on the night of July 24,” said Cst. Chris Terleski. “However, this cannot be confirmed until a positive identification is made by the BC Coroners Service.” Van Hill was the captain of a commercial fishing boat, which capsized in Okanagan Lake near Ellison Provincial Park around 11 pm on July 24. click to read< 07:58
Missing kayaker’s body found as search moves on to shrimp boat captain
The body of a missing kayaker has been found on Kalamalka Lake. Eli Buruca went missing during a windstorm the night of July 24. Volunteer searchers located Buruca’s body in deep water at the north end of the lake and it was recovered by the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team on Wednesday, says police spokesperson Cpl. Tania Finn. “Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Finn. Meanwhile, the search for Travis Van Hill continues on Okanagan Lake, near Ellison Provincial Park. Van Hill went missing during the same storm, when the shrimp boat he was on capsized. >click to read< 10:31
Capsized shrimp boat recovered from Okanagan Lake
The shrimp boat Travis Van Hill was working on the night he is presumed to have drowned is now out of Okanagan Lake. Crews were at Paddlewheel Park boat launch in Vernon Tuesday afternoon, dragging the formerly capsized boat out of the water. The boat has now been dry docked. Kim Van Hill, wife of the missing boat captain, says the boat will be taken away. It took two trucks to pull the vessel out of the water. Van Hill was not found on the boat when it was recovered. Some believed he had been caught in the netting pulled behind the boat, but when the netting was recovered, Van Hill was not among it. Video, >click to read< 09:47
Learn all about Okanagan Lake’s shrimp boat fleet
You don’t have to be Forrest Gump to start your own career as a shrimp fisherman. In fact, Okanagan Lake has its own shrimp fleet. Piscine Energetics operates research vessels that harvest mysis shrimp from the lake. Harvesting has been ongoing each summer since 2000. It was started in response to falling kokanee numbers. The shrimp had been introduced in the 1960s and were seen as a food source for the fish. For a few years, record size kokanee were caught. But the plan soon backfired when it was realized the shrimp were competing for food with the kokanee fry. A recent ad recruiting shrimp boat deckhands explains Piscine’s “mission to restore fish populations to their natural levels through the management of invasive aquatic organisms.” Interesting video, >click to read< 10:08
Canada’s sockeye salmon find their way home again after 50 years
For the first time in over 50 years, spawning sockeye salmon will return to Okanagan Lake in British Columbia,,, A fish ladder, left inoperable after the Penticton Dam was built in the 1950s, has been restored by the Okanagan Nation Alliance and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A crane was used to remove a wooden gate blocking off the narrow concrete passage, opening the way for fish to get through. “To watch that gate go up, and to know that fish can finally return to their historic grounds, was a tearful moment,” she said. McFayden is a member of the Okanagan River Restoration Initiative (ORRI) and the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance. >click to read< 07:55
