The seven species of Oncorhynchus use the entire Pacific Rim coastline and can venture hundreds of kilometers inland in every direction. Salmon use the tributaries, rivers, and estuaries without regard to jurisdiction, from South Korea to Southern California.
All Salmon begin their life as a fertilized egg in freshwater streams, lakes, and rivers and migrate to the sea as small fish called smolts.
After they transition from fresh to salt water and grow into adults in the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean, a biological clock tells the salmon to return as adults to the same streams where they were born to spawn and begin the cycle again. Salmon returning to freshwater to spawn are called “spawners,” which is the next stage of their life.
Chinook/King salmon are the largest salmon and get up to 58 inches (1.5 meters) long and 126 pounds (57.2 kg). Pink salmon are the smallest at up to 30 inches (0.8 meters) long and 12 pounds (5.4 kg), although they average 3 to 5 pounds (1.3-2.3 kg).
For the indigenous people of the Pacific Rim, salmon are a primary source of protein and also a part of their culture.
Pacific salmon
