ust what are kokanee salmon? Kokanee are, in essence, sockeye salmon that live their entire lives in freshwater lakes, rivers and streams. Many populations would never have the opportunity to migrate to the ocean because they live behind dams. Interestingly, however, even in waters where kokanee have access to the ocean, they still remain in fresh water. There are even some places where populations of migrating sockeye salmon join kokanee in fresh water during spawning season — yet they don’t interbreed.