Pacific Salmon
Animals of The Coasts & MountainsKeen's Long-Eared Bat | Bald Eagle | Banana Slug Columbian Black-tailed Deer | Cougar | Gray Wolf | Grizzly Bear | Marbled Murrelet Mountain Goat | Pacific Giant Salamander | Pacific Salmon | Pacific Treefrog Peale's Peregrine Falcon | Rough-Skinned Newt | Spotted Owl | Tailed Frog Haliaeetus leucocephalus
photo: Hobson
AppearancePacific salmon are large fish, in various colours from silver and grey with dark spots or fins. The largest Pacific salmon, Chinook, can weigh up to 36 kg. There are 6 species of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus genus): Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, Sockeye, and Steelhead. Range & HabitatPacific Salmon are found in the ocean and in rivers and streams from Alaska to California. In BC, the Pacific Salmon lives in the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince. Diet & BehaviourIn the ocean they feed on zooplankton, herring and other small fish; in rivers they feed on insects and small fish. Salmon can move from fresh water to salt water and back again; to do this they have to change their body to adapt to the new kind of water. Lifecycle & ThreatsSalmon spend their adult life in the ocean, and migrate up streams and rivers to spawn (lay eggs). Most salmon die once they've spawned, and Steelhead are the only salmon able to spawn more than once. In the streams, eggs are buried in gravel nests called "redds". After the eggs hatch, the baby salmon (which start as alevins, and grow into fry, parrs and then smolts) remain in freshwater streams or lakes up to two years prior to swimming to the ocean. Once at sea, they migrate varying distances, staying in the ocean up to several years. Pacific salmon live from 2 years (Pink salmon) to 7 years (Chinook). Threats to salmon include loss of habitat (spawning areas) and over fishing. Efforts are being made to protect and restore habitat and to use improved harvesting methods. Status Status
COSEWIC: 3 salmon populations are listed as Endangered
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