Species of the Month

September’s Species of the Month is our first fish to be featured. Pink salmon are returning to their birth rivers along the Pacific coast. They are the smallest and most abundant of the five Pacific salmon species found in North America. When you buy canned salmon, it is most likely pink. Besides feeding us, they also support entire ecosystems.

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Teleostei (ray-finned fishes)

Order: Salmoniformes (salmons)

Range: Northern Pacific Ocean from East Asia to California and upstream

Habitat: Rivers and ocean

Lifespan: Two years typically, some may live three years

Diet: Insects and plankton (juvenile) and fish (adult)  

Predators: Bears, killer whales, osprey, eagles, sea lions, seals

Conservation Status: No special conservation status

Other Information: Pink salmon is an anadromous fish, meaning it is born in freshwater then moves to a saltwater phase before returning to the stream it hatched in to spawn. These fish typically spawn close to saltwater, sometimes even in the saltwater. After hatching, the salmon fry immediately swim downstream to the ocean. Pinks are also known as humpies, named for the large hump spawning males grow on their backs. The two-year life cycle of the pinks is the only completely predictable salmon life cycle. Other species may spend 2-5 years at sea, depending on the species and the individual. Pinks, like other salmon, are an important food source for bears fattening up for winter. They are also incredible swimmers, amazingly agile in just a few inches of water. I walked in the river with them and despite their fins being above the surface and my longer stride, I was unable to keep pace with them. Due to low river levels followed by flooding that affected the 2015 spawners, the 2017 pink salmon run is forecasted to be a fraction of the previous run.

Info this week is from USGS  and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Spawning female pink salmon, Mashel River 2015

Spawning male pink salmon, Mashel River 2015