Which is Salmon Fish ?

Seven if you count the Steelhead, which scientists have recently discovered is more closely related to salmon than it is to trout, as previously believed. The other species are: Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, Coho salmon, Pink salmon, and Sockeye salmon.

Color of the body depends on the age and type of habitat. Salmons change the color of the body on their way from the ocean to the freshwater habitats during the mating season.

Salmons have soft fin rays and short dorsal fin. Males and females can be distinguished by the shape of head and jaws. Females have streamlined head, while males develop hook-like structure (called kype) in their jaws before spawning.

Salmon are considered keystone species

Young salmons eat different types of insects, invertebrates and plankton while adult salmons eat small types of fish, squids and shrimps.

This means they have a disproportionately large impact on their ecosystem relative to how many of them there are. If a keystone species were to disappear, their ecosystems would change significantly. Rotting salmon carcasses transfer valuable nutrients from the ocean to the land. Scientists have traced nutrients from salmon bodies and found them in mosses, herbs, shrubs, trees, insects, song birds, bears and wolves!

Salmons have a lot of natural enemies. They are often targeted by large fish, whales, sea lions and bears.

Salmon have huge cultural significance

Salmon is important part of human diet because it contains a lot of proteins, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.

For example, in the Pacific Northwest, salmon have been a significant part of the First Nation economies, religions, and cultures of the region for millennia. Historically and today, salmon have been a primary food source for Columbia River Basin First Nations, and are a significant part of their cultural and spiritual identity.

Salmon travels thousands of miles and climbs 7.000 feet upstream until it reaches spawning areas.

Salmon are facing a lot of threats

Salmons rely on the sense of smell, ocean currents and moon to find waters where they were born.

Salmon populations in Canada are threatened by parasites, disease, overfishing, climate change, and habitat loss. WWF-Canada is working in some key salmon habitats to try and reduce threats to these iconic and important species.

Most salmons will die as a result of exhaustion after spawning. Small percent of survived salmons will spawn few more time in their lifetime.

Salmon are a part of our Canadian heritage

Female prepares nest (called redd) in the gravel using her tail. She lays around 5000 eggs per nest. Once eggs are covered with sperm, female closes the nest with gravel and moves to another location to repeat the process. Female produces up to 7 redds during spawning.

Newly hatched salmons are called alevin or sac fry. They stay in fresh water from 6 months to 3 years, until they become strong enough to swim to the ocean.

Anyone who travels knows that Canadians are known for our smoked salmon. Pacific salmon were critical to the early development of British Columbia’s economy. The commercial and recreational fisheries continue to play a role in coastal communities. It’s no wonder salmon are the official provincial fish of British Columbia!

The adult Atlantic salmon averages about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in weight, while the king salmon averages about 23 pounds (10 kg), though individuals of 50–80 pounds (22–36 kg) are not uncommon. Chum salmon average about 10–12 pounds (4.5–5.5 kg); coho salmon weigh about 7–10 pounds (3–4.5 kg); sockeye, about 4–7 pounds (2–3 kg); and pink salmon, 3–6 pounds (1.3–2.7 kg).

Young salmons live in beaver ponds which provide shelter against predators.

Salmon is fish that belongs to the family Salmonidae. It is closely related to trout and char. There are nine commercially important species of salmon that can be found in the Atlantic (Atlantic salmon, genus Salmo) and Pacific oceans (eight species, genus Oncorhynchus).

Salmon are named after their runs

Atlantic salmon, though fished commercially in certain areas, are valued chiefly as sport fish. They are farmed in fish pens in many parts of the world. The king and coho salmon are prized sport fish in the larger rivers of the Pacific coast. The commercial fishery of Pacific salmon nets millions of pounds annually, of which nearly half is pink salmon, one-third is chum salmon, and most of the remainder is sockeye.

Salmon's age can be determined by the number of rings on the otolith (structure in the ear).