pelagic
Chinook Salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Elongated, robust body with an adipose fin and a deeply forked tail featuring dark spots on both lobes. Adults in the ocean have a silver body with greenish-blue backs. Spawning adults darken significantly to olive-brown, reddish, or purple hues, and males develop a prominent hooked jaw (kype).
- Habitat
- Native to the cold waters of the North Pacific Ocean and…
- Size & weight
- Typically ranges from 10 to 50 pounds and 24 to 36 inche…
- Diet
- Juveniles feed primarily on aquatic insects, amphipods,…
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Physical characteristics
Elongated, robust body with an adipose fin and a deeply forked tail featuring dark spots on both lobes. Adults in the ocean have a silver body with greenish-blue backs. Spawning adults darken significantly to olive-brown, reddish, or purple hues, and males develop a prominent hooked jaw (kype).
Habitat & distribution
Native to the cold waters of the North Pacific Ocean and major river systems of western North America and northeastern Asia. They spend much of their adult lives in deep pelagic ocean waters before migrating into freshwater streams and rivers to spawn.
Behavior
Solitary or loose-schooling during their ocean-dwelling phase, becoming territorial and homing-focused during their freshwater spawning migration.
Diet
Juveniles feed primarily on aquatic insects, amphipods, and small crustaceans. Adults feed aggressively on various pelagic forage fish, including herring, pilchard, sand lance, and squid.
Reproduction
Anadromous species. They migrate from the ocean up freshwater rivers, where females build gravel nests called redds to deposit eggs, which are then fertilized by males before the adult salmon die.
Ecological role
Acts as a crucial nutrient link between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, transferring marine-derived nitrogen and phosphorus to upstream forests and wildlife when spawning adults die.
Similar species
Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), which has white gums and fewer black spots on the lower half of the tail fin compared to the black gums and heavily spotted tail lobes of the Chinook.
Identification tips
Look for black pigment along the gum line (lower jaw), large black spots on both the upper and lower lobes of the tail fin, and a relatively square tail base.
Interesting facts
The Chinook is the largest of all Pacific salmon species, earning it the common nickname 'king salmon.' They possess an extraordinary sense of smell and can navigate thousands of miles of open ocean to return precisely to the exact freshwater stream where they hatched.