Identifiable by a greenish-blue colour with fine black speckles on their backs, sockeye are the third most abundant salmon after pink and chum, with a range extending from California to Alaska. Migrations begin in July as the salmon return to their spawning grounds in BC. Main spawning areas include the Fraser, Skeena and Nass rivers and Rivers Inlet. From August to November the sockeye travel upriver to the lakes and tributaries that provide the velocity of current and texture of gravel needed to nurture the fertilized eggs. At this stage in their lives the sockeye are harvested by gillnetting. Gill nets are deliberately wide-meshed so that salmon attempt to swim through them and are caught behind the gills as they try to back away.