Remember Me
forgot your password?

Do you Know the Six Different Salmon Species?

Did you know that there are five species of Pacific salmon and one species of Atlantic salmon? Further, did you know that all 5 species of Pacific salmon run wild in Alaska?

We’re proud of our wild salmon here in Alaska, and rightly so. On the one hand the wild salmon are great sport fish and we Alaskans love to spend gorgeous summer weekends challenging them.

On the other hand our commercial fisheries are healthy and self-sustaining. They are able to catch enough wild salmon to satisfy most of the world wide demand for fresh wild fillets in the restaurants and packaged wild salmon on grocery store shelves.

King Salmon

The Chinook salmon is nicknamed king salmon in Alaska. It is the official Alaska state fish.

Description

Of all the Pacific salmon the king is the largest. A 97-pound king was caught by a sport fisherman in 1986 on the Kenai River. In 1949 a 126 pound king was caught commercially near Petersburg, Alaska. Typically king salmon weigh 30 pounds and above.

The king is lightly and irregularly spotted on their blue-green back. They also have a black pigment along their gum line. Spawning kings in fresh water range in color from red to copper to almost black.

Life Cycle

All species of Pacific salmon hatch in fresh water, spend part of their life cycle in the ocean, then return to fresh water to spawn.

The king salmon generally live 5 to 7 years, though they can mature by their second to third year. As a result the kings in a spawning run can vary greatly in size. A mature 3-year old may only weigh 4 pounds while a mature 7-year old may exceed 50 pounds.

The young king salmon feed on plankton and insects during their fresh water period. During their second year they migrate to the ocean where they grow rapidly.

Some kings make immense spawning migrations. For example, many of the Yukon River kings will migrate over 2,000 miles during a 60 day period to reach the streams and headwaters in Yukon Territory, Canada.

Taste

The king salmon has a rich flavor, firm flesh, and a pleasing red color. Kings caught at the mouth of the Yukon River have a huge store of oil in their flesh for their long upriver migration. The result is an extra-rich flavor, much prized among those who love salmon.

Sockeye Salmon

The Sockeye salmon is also called the red salmon due to the bright red color of its flesh, and it is the second most abundant salmon species in Alaska.

Description

Sockeye salmon are the slimmest and most streamlined of the 5 species of Pacific salmon. They differ from kings, silvers, and pink salmon by the lack of large black spots, and they differ from chum salmon by having more gill rakers on the first gill.

Sockeye are generally a greenish-blue color with silver sides and a white or silver belly.

During the spawning season the Sockeye males develop a humped back and a hooked jaw. Both male and female Sockeye turn brilliant to dark red as they head upriver to their spawning grounds.

Life Cycle

After hatching during the winter and spending a few months in the river gravels, the juvenile Sockeye spend 1 to 3 years in freshwater before migrating to the ocean.

The Sockeye spend 1 to 4 years in the ocean, ranging thousands of miles while feeding and then returning to the same freshwater system where they were born. They reach an average size of 4 to 8 pounds, sometimes reaching in excess of 15 pounds.

Bristol Bay, in southwestern Alaska, annually harvests the largest number of Sockeye salmon in the world. About 10 million to 30 million Sockeye are caught during a short season that lasts only a few weeks.

Taste

The Sockeye salmon has an exquisitely rich flavor due to the high concentration of oils. It is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids. The rich red flesh color is maintained throughout cooking which results in a beautiful presentation. Some people consider the Sockeye to be the most flavorful of all the salmon species.

Silver Salmon

Coho salmon are known as silver salmon in Alaska and are an excellent game fish.

Description

Coho salmon have bright silver sides and have small black spots on their back.

Spawning salmon of both sexes develop red to maroon colored sides. The males develop a hooked snout with large teeth.

Life History

Juvenile silvers live in ponds and lakes formed by rivers and streams. They generally spend one to three years in the streams and may spend as many as 5 winters in lakes before migrating to the ocean.

Silvers stay in the ocean, where they grow quickly, for about 18 months before returning to their home streams. They weigh from 8 to 12 pounds, but can range up to 31 pounds. Their length ranges from 25 to 35 inches.

Taste

The flesh color of silver salmon is orange-red and is retained during cooking. The texture is firm and the fat content is high. The taste is a pleasing full salmon flavor, slightly milder than that of the Sockeye. The size of a fillet is larger than that of the Sockeye, and it is a prized fish for cooking.

Pink Salmon

Pink salmon are also known as the humpback in Alaska. Prior to spawning the pink salmon develops a pronounced hump on its back.

Description

The color of the pink salmon is generally a bright steely blue on top and silver on the sides. It has many large black spots on its back and over the entire tail fin. It has small scales and its flesh is pink, befitting its name.

The spawning pink salmon develops an olive green to black color on its back with a light-colored to white belly. It develops a very pronounced hump and hooked jaws.

Life Cycle

The young pink salmon hatch during the winter and spend a few months in the river gravels. During the spring they migrate downstream to the ocean. They feed along the beaches before moving out further into the ocean.

Like all salmon, the pinks grow rapidly in the ocean but they are the smallest of the Pacific salmon species. The pinks reach a size of about 3 to 5 pounds and about 20 to 24 inches in length.

The pink salmon spends only two years in the ocean. This two year pattern causes distinct odd-year and even-year cycles which are unrelated to each other.

When the pinks return to freshwater, they are the most abundant of the Pacific salmon species. They do not migrate far upriver, but generally spawn within a few miles of the mouth of the river. As with the other Pacific species both male and female pinks will die within a couple of weeks of spawning.

Taste

The pink salmon has a delicate, mild flavor and a light flesh color. About 80% of harvested pinks are canned and are the most common salmon species found on grocery store shelves.

Chum Salmon

Sometimes called “dog salmon” in Alaska, the chum salmon is a traditional source of dried fish for winter use.

Description

Chum salmon have a metallic greenish-blue back surface with fine black spots. They resemble sockeye and silver salmon so closely that one needs to examine their gills and fins closely to make a positive identification.

When nearing fresh water the chum salmon develops noticeable vertical bars of green and purple, which gives them another nickname, calico salmon.

The spawning chums develop the typical hooked jaws like other Pacific salmon and large teeth, which partially accounts for their other nickname, dog salmon.

Life Cycle

As with pink salmon, the young chum do not spend much time in fresh water before migrating out into the ocean. They feed near the mouths of their streams for a period before forming schools and moving further out into the ocean.

The chums spend 3 to 5 years in salt water, growing rapidly after entering the ocean. They generally range in size from 7 to 18 pounds, sometimes reaching 30 pounds in weight.

When the chums return to fresh water they often spawn in the same areas as the pinks, not migrating far up river. One major exception to this pattern is the chum salmon population of the Yukon River. Some of these chums migrate 2000 miles upriver to spawn in Yukon Territory of Canada. These chums have a very high fat content in preparation for their long migration.

Taste

Chum salmon have a mild, delicate flavor with a medium red flesh color. However, Yukon River chums, with their higher fat content, have a rich, full flavor similar to Kings and Sockeye.

Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic salmon are not native to the Pacific coast but are raised in large numbers in pens. They run wild on the Atlantic coast only. The Atlantic salmon found in markets are farm-raised, generally originating in salmon farms off Chile or British Columbia, Canada.

Description

Atlantic salmon in the wild have silvery sides and belly with greenish-blue coloration on its back.

Spawning Atlantic salmon develop blackish fins and purplish coloration and reddish spots. Surviving adults are dark in color.

Life Cycle

In the wild young salmon spend one to three years in fresh water before migrating to the ocean. In the ocean the Atlantic salmon ranges for thousands of miles.

They generally return to freshwater by the age of five. Unlike the five Pacific species of salmon, the Atlantic salmon does not die after spawning. The surviving adults repeat the migration and spawning cycle.

Garry Gamber

Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about politics, real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of The Dating Advisor and is the National Director of Good Politics Radio.

Rate this Article: 5 / 5 stars - 1 vote(s)
Print Email Re-Publish

Add new Comment



Captcha

  • Latest Sports and Fitness Articles
  • More from Garry Gamber

Russian Kettlebell Training - History and Benefits

By: Jack Patterson | 10/11/2009
Article Summary

Let the Polar RS800 Monitor Your Heart Rate While You Run!

By: Lynn Blair | 10/11/2009
Designed for elite-level training, the Polar RS800 wrist heart rate monitor a total system for planning, monitoring and investigating your coaching. It involves the snug textile Polar WearLink W.I.N.D. Transmitter with 2.4 GHz disturbance-free transmission from all the other electronic devices. It incorporates Polar's ProTrainer 5 software-the most advanced and dynamic training, planning and researching software on the market. Simply prepare a detailed training program and transfer your dail

DonJoy Defiance Custom Knee Brace: The Ultimate Brace for Your Knee

By: Jason Zinn | 10/11/2009
The DonJoy Defiance Custom Knee Brace is the top custom knee brace on the market. Nothing is more frustrating than a knee injury that sidelines you from life. With this custom knee brace, you will be off the sidelines and safely back in the game.

The Best Big Arm Workout

By: Glenn Kirkland | 10/11/2009
The arm muscles are one of the most significant muscles that you need to develop as a bodybuilder. Having giant arms is the epitome of successful weightlifting and that is why many bodybuilders focus on them when coaching. If you're not well versed with the basics of enlarging the size of the muscle arms you are not going to succeed in stimulating there expansion. If you need to develop large arms, you need to follow the rules below ; One. Know your anatomy you should know...

Different Kind of Sports

By: mary anne duran | 10/11/2009
We are all aware that sports are one of the very important things that we should do in our daily life. It does not only help us to have a healthy body and immune system but it also gives us fun and enjoyment.

The Best Big Arm Workout

By: Jerome Greer | 10/11/2009
The arm muscles are one of the most significant muscles you need to develop as a weightlifter. Having huge arms is the epitome of successful weightlifting and that's why many bodybuilders target them when training. If you are not well capable with the fundamentals of inflating the size of the muscle arms you are not going to achieve success in stimulating there expansion. If you need to develop large arms, you must follow the rules below ; One. Know your anatomy you should...

Online Poker Meets the Planet of the Apes

By: Thomas Kearns | 10/11/2009
I'm sure everyone at one time or another has seen a painting of a group of gentlemanly canines engaged in an anthropomorphic game of poker as created by Cassius Coolidge in his wonderful series of poker playing dog paintings. But check this out, the artists whimsicality was not entirely removed...

Best Abdominal Exercises With Stability Ball - The Best Article For Strong Six Pack Abs

By: Tracy Rivera | 10/11/2009
Workout Abs - how it is possible to get Ripped Fast Here are of the eight most very efficient ab exercises... To develop tight abs, focus on isolating them absolutely by using a particularly short range of motion, but high intensity, during your abdominal exercises. 1. Vertical leg crunch... The vertical leg crunch is another effective move for the rectus abdominis and the obliques. Contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though reaching your chest to...

Wild Nights - Wild Nights! a Discussion of the Emily Dickinson Poem

By: Garry Gamber | 02/08/2008 | Poetry
"Wild Nights" can be interpreted several different ways, but the most obvious interpretation is that the poem expresses love, passion, and sexual desire.

A Discussion of the Poem, You Left Me, by Emily Dickinson

By: Garry Gamber | 02/08/2008 | Poetry
"You Left Me" is an amazingly concise poem. It communicates two immense ideas in the short space of two four-line stanzas.

A Discussion of Emily Dickinson's Poem, Because I Could not Stop for Death

By: Garry Gamber | 02/08/2008 | Poetry
"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is a brilliant poem, well constructed, easily understood, and filled with many poetic conventions. The first stanza is often quoted alone and represents one of the most inspired quatrains in American poetry.

20 Tips to Keep Love Alive

By: Garry Gamber | 01/01/2008 | Relationships
Have you ever been at a loss to think of something special that you can do for that special someone in your life? Maybe you want to do a little extra for an important event, like his or her birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, or anniversary. Here are some excellent tips and ideas of some special actions that you can take to help keep love alive in your life.

Do you Know the Six Different Salmon Species?

By: Garry Gamber | 01/01/2008 | Sports & Fitness
Did you know that there are five species of Pacific salmon and one species of Atlantic salmon? Further, did you know that all 5 species of Pacific salmon run wild in Alaska?

The 1964 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami

By: Garry Gamber | 01/01/2008 | Nature
The 1964 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake and the resulting tsunami struck without warning on Good Friday, March 27.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: a Discussion of How Do I Love Thee?

By: Garry Gamber | 01/01/2008 | Poetry
“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was written in 1845 while she was being courted by the English poet, Robert Browning. The poem is also titled Sonnet XLIII from Sonnets From the Portuguese.

Anne Bradstreet: to My Dear and Loving Husband

By: Garry Gamber | 01/01/2008 | Poetry
“To My Dear and Loving Husband” was written by America’s first female poet, the Puritan, Anne Bradstreet. In fact, Anne Bradstreet is one of only a handful of female American poets during the first 200 years of America’s history. After Bradstreet, one can list only Phillis Wheatley, the 18th century black female poet, Emma Lazarus, the 19th century poet whose famous words appear on the Statue of Liberty, and the 19th century Emily Dickinson, America’s most famous female poet.

Submit Your Articles Free: Signup
Article Categories




Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.05, 1, w1)