The King salmon or Chinook salmon is Alaska's state fish and is the most important sport
and commercial fish native to the Pacific coast of America. It is by far the largest of all
Pacific salmon, with weights of a single fish commonly exceeding 45 pounds. A 126 pound
King salmon taken in a fish trap off the coast of Petersburg, Alaska in 1949 is the largest
on record. The largest sport fishing King or Chinook salmon was a 97-pound fish taken in
the Kenai River in 1986 by Les Anderson.
The King salmon has many local names. In Washington and Oregon, King salmon are
called Chinook, while in Canada they are called spring salmon. Some un-common names
are quinnat, tyee, tule, and blackmouth.
Range: In North America, King salmon range from Monterey Bay area of California to the
Pacific’s of Alaska. On the Asian coast, King salmon appear from the Anadyr River area
southward to Hokkaido and Japan.
In Alaska, King salmon are abundant from the southeastern panhandle to the Yukon
River. Major schools return to the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Nushagak, Susitna, Kenai, Copper,
Alsek, Taku, and Stikine rivers. Vital runs also occur in smaller streams.
General description: Adults are notable by the black irregular spotting on the back and
dorsal fins and on both lobes of the caudal or tail fin. Chinook salmon also have a black
color along the gum line which gives them the name "blackmouth" in several areas.
In the ocean, the King salmon is a stout, deep-bodied fish with a bluish-green tint on the
back which fades to a silvery color taking place on the sides and white on the belly.
Colors of spawning King salmon in fresh water range from red to copper to maroon to
almost black, depending on position and quantity of maturation. Males have a deeper
color than the females and also are well-known by their ridged back condition and by
their hooked nose or upper jaw
Life history:
King salmon hatch in fresh water, spend most of their life in the ocean, and then spawn in
fresh water, all King’s die after spawning. King salmon may become sexually mature from
their second through seventh year in the salt, and as a result, fish in any spawning run
may vary greatly in volume. For instance, a mature 3-year-old will probably weigh less
than 6 pounds, while a mature 7-year-old may exceed 70 pounds. Females lean to be
older than males at maturity. In most all spawning runs, males out number females in all
but the 6 to 7 year age groups. Small King’s that mature after spending only one season
in the ocean are referred to as "jacks" and are usually males. Alaska rivers and streams
normally receive a single run of King salmon in the period from May through July.
King salmon often make an extensive freshwater spawning migration to reach their home
streams on several of the larger river systems. Yukon River spawner’s bound for the
severe headwaters in Yukon Territory, Canada, will travel more than 2,000 miles during a
60-day period. King salmon do not feed all through the freshwater spawning migration, so
their condition deteriorates steadily during the spawning run as they use stored body
mass for energy and for the development of reproductive products.
Each female or Hen deposits from 3,000 to 14,000 eggs in several gravel bed, which she
digs in relatively deep, moving water. In Alaska, eggs usually hatch during late winter or
early spring, depending on time of spawning and water temperature. The recently
hatched fish, called alevins, live in the gravel for several weeks until they gradually
absorb the food and nutrients in the attached yolk sac.
These juveniles, called fry, make their way up through the gravel by early spring. In
Alaska, most juvenile King salmon remain in fresh water until the following spring when
they migrate to the ocean during their second year of life. These seaward migrants are
named smolts. Juvenile Kings in fresh water feed on plankton, and then later eat insects.
In the ocean, they eat a mixture of organisms including herring, pilchard, sandlance,
squid, and crustaceans. Kings grow rapidly in the ocean and frequently double their
weight during a single summer season.
Commercial fishery and subsistence: North Pacific King salmon catches during the late
1970s and early 1980s averaged more than 4 million fish per year. The United States
harvested the bulk of the catch followed by Canada, Japan, and the USSR. Alaska's
annual harvest throughout this period averaged about 731,000 fish per year, or around
32 percent of North Americans catch. The majority of the Alaska was made in Southeast,
Bristol Bay, and the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim areas. Fish taken commercially typically
weighed about 18 pounds. The majority of the catch was caught with troll gear and
gillnets.
There is an excellent market for King salmon because of their great size and excellent
table appearance. Recent catches in Alaska have brought fishers over $19 million per
year.
Catches of subsistence fisheries in Southwest and South central areas from 1976
through 1986 have averaged around 90,000 King salmon.
Sport fishery: The King salmon is the most highly prized sport fish in Alaska and is fished
hard by anglers in the Southeast and Cook Inlet areas. Trolling with cut herring is the
favored method of angling in salt water, while lures and salmon eggs are most commonly
used by freshwater anglers.
Summary of:
Delaney Kevin, "Chinook Salmon." ADF&G. 1994. 8 Oct. 1994 http://www.adfg.state.ak.
us/pubs/notebook/fish/chinook.php
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