Pacific Salmon Species: Coho and Chinook | Sea Life, Islands and Oceania

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SALMON SPECIES

Top Wild-Caught Salmon Species
Global rank for all harvested (farmed or wild fish) — Common name — Scientific name — Harvest in tonnes (1000 kilograms)
26) Pink salmon — Oncorhynchus gorbuscha — 406,131 tonnes
56) Chum salmon — Oncorhynchus keta — 189,777 tonnes

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is the most common farmed salmon. It makes up the biggest saltwater farmed fish industry by species and the 8th biggest farmed fish industry by species. A total of 2,066,561 tonnes (1000 kilograms) of Atlantic salmon was harvested in 2021. The wild Atlantic salmon fishery is commercially dead; after extensive habitat damage and overfishing, wild fish make up only 0.5 percent of the Atlantic salmon available in world fish markets. The rest are farmed, predominantly from aquaculture in Norway, Chile, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Faroe Islands, Russia and Tasmania in Australia.

Pacific salmon and steelhead salmon are Endangered Species Conservation (ESA) protected species in Alaska and U.S. West Coast fisheries. Species include Chinook Salmon, Chum Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Pink Salmon and Steelhead Trout.

Pacific salmon and steelhead have a dynamic life cycle that includes time in fresh and saltwater habitats. These fish are born in freshwater streams and rivers, migrate to coastal estuaries, then enter the ocean where they mature. They usually return as adults to the same streams where they were born to spawn and begin the cycle again. [Source: NOAA]

Websites and Resources: Animal Diversity Web (ADW) animaldiversity.org; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noaa.gov; Fishbase fishbase.se ; Encyclopedia of Life eol.org ; Smithsonian Oceans Portal ocean.si.edu/ocean-life-ecosystems

Coho Salmon

Coho salmon

Coho salmon (Scientific name: Oncorhynchus kisutch) have dark metallic blue or greenish backs with silver sides and a light belly. Commonly called silver salmon and also known as salmon, medium red salmon, Hoopid salmon and white salmon, they have small black spots on their back and on the upper lobe of the tail while they are in the ocean. The gumline in the lower jaw has lighter pigment than on Chinook salmon. [Source: NOAA]

Adult coho salmon usually weigh 3.5 to 4.5 kilograms (8 to 12 pounds) and are 60 to 76 centimeters (24 to 30 inches) long. While in fresh water, young coho salmon feed on plankton and insects. While in the ocean, they switch to a diet of small fishes such as herring, sandlance, anchovies, and sardines. Adults are also known to eat juveniles of other salmon species, especially pink and chum salmon, as well as juvenile sablefish. Otters, seals, and a variety of fish and birds prey on juvenile coho. Sharks, sea lions, seals, and orcas feed on adult coho.

Coho salmon are found throughout the North Pacific Ocean and in most coastal streams and rivers from Alaska to central California. In North America, they're most abundant in coastal areas from southeast Alaska to central Oregon. Coho salmon spend their early life growing and feeding in freshwater streams, estuaries, and associated wetlands. They spend the remainder of their life foraging in the ocean before returning to the streams and tributaries where they were born to spawn. Coho salmon have also been introduced in all the Great Lakes, as well as many other landlocked reservoirs throughout the United States.

Migrating and Spawning Coho Salmon

coho salmon migrating in Oregon

Coho salmon are anadromous — they hatch in freshwater streams and spend a year in streams and rivers then migrate out to the saltwater environment of the ocean to feed and grow. Some stocks of coho salmon migrate more than 1,000 miles in the ocean, while other stocks remain in marine areas close to the streams where they were born. They spend about 1½ years feeding in the ocean, then return to their natal streams or rivers to spawn, generally in fall or early winter. [Source: NOAA]

In fresh water, spawning coho are dark with reddish-maroon coloration on the sides. Spawning males develop a strongly hooked snout and large teeth. Before juvenile coho migrate to the sea, they lose their parr marks (a pattern of vertical bars and spots useful for camouflage) and gain the dark back and light belly coloration of coho living in the ocean.

Coho salmon typically spawn between the ages of 3 and 4. Female coho dig out gravel nests (redds) on stream bottoms where they lay their eggs. The eggs incubate for 6 to 7 weeks until they hatch. All coho salmon die after spawning. The newly hatched larvae remain in the gravel until the yolk sac is absorbed. After salmon spawn and die, salmon carcasses are a valuable source of energy and nutrients to the river ecosystem. Carcasses have been shown to improve newly hatched salmon growth and survival by contributing nitrogen and phosphorous compounds to streams..

Coho Salmon Fishing

In 2021, the commercial landings in the U.S. of coho salmon totaled 8.2 million kilograms (18 million pounds) and were valued at $28 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database. Most of the U.S. coho salmon harvest comes from Alaska (over 90 percent) with smaller percentages from Washington and Oregon. Coho salmon are mainly harvested in commercial troll fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Troll vessels catch salmon by "trolling" their lines with bait or lures through groups of feeding fish. To retrieve hooked fish, the lines are wound on spools by hand or hydraulically, and the fish are gaffed when alongside the vessel. [Source: NOAA]

Freshly caught coho salmon

The troll fishery produces low-volume, high-quality product. Coho are also harvested in commercial seine and gillnet fisheries (described here), both in fisheries targeting stocks of coho and as bycatch in fisheries targeting other species of salmon. Fishing gear used to catch coho salmon rarely contacts the ocean floor and has little impact on habitat. Bycatch is low and usually consists of other salmon species.

Salmon are a favorite catch of recreational fishermen. Coho are spectacular fighters and the most acrobatic of the Pacific salmon. Recreational fishermen use a variety of fishing gear to harvest coho salmon. To ensure recreational fisheries are sustainable, West Coast anglers are only allowed to keep a certain number of salmon per fishing trip. In Alaska, regulations vary by area and individual fisheries. Recreational fisheries in high-use areas (Cook Inlet, Southeast Alaska, Copper River) are regulated through management plans that allocate fish between competing commercial and recreational fishermen. In Washington, Oregon, and the Columbia River, hatchery fish are marked (by clipping the adipose fin), so wild coho can be released and have lower fishing mortality rates. Salmon is an important source of spiritual and physical sustenance for Western Indian tribes and Alaska natives, and salmon are culturally important to many other residents of these areas. Subsistence fishermen use a variety of fishing gear to harvest coho salmon.

Coho Salmon Fishing Management

NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage coho salmon on the West Coast. The species are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan. Every year, the council reviews reports of the previous fishing season and current estimates of salmon abundance. Using this information, they make recommendations for management of the upcoming fishing season. Their general goal is to allow fishermen to harvest the maximum amount of salmon that will support the fishery while preventing overharvest of the resource and ensuring that salmon populations with low abundance can rebuild. Specific management measures vary year to year depending on current salmon abundance, and include size limits, season length, quotas, and gear restrictions. Management of coho salmon must also comply with laws such as the Endangered Species Act. Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch. [Source: NOAA]

Managers regulate the fishery based on escapement goals to ensure harvests are sustainable. They want enough salmon to be able to escape the fishery and return to fresh water to spawn and replenish the population. Salmon fishery management largely relies on in-season assessment of how many salmon return to fresh water to spawn. Managers set harvest levels based on these returns. When abundance is high and the number of fish returning is much higher than that needed to meet escapement goals, harvest levels are set higher. In years of low abundance, harvest levels are lowered.

Coho salmon range

During the fishing season, scientists monitor catch and escapement, comparing current returns with those from previous years, to keep an eye on abundance and actively manage the fishery. Off the West Coast and in Alaska, the Pacific Salmon Treaty and the Pacific Salmon Commission help coordinate management, research, and enhancement of shared U.S. and international salmon stocks, including coho.

Coho Salmon Stocks and Conservation

There are more than 20 different stocks of coho salmon. Some stocks are above target population levels, while others are below. Managers set fishing rates to avoid jeopardizing the survival and recovery of coho salmon stocks that are below their target levels. [Source: NOAA]

Alaskan populations of coho salmon are near or above target population levels. The Alaska Coho Salmon Assemblage consists of coho salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, and chum salmon throughout southeast Alaska. There are 3 indicator stocks of coho salmon that are used to determine the status of the assemblage; these indicator stocks are Auke Creek, Berners River, and Hugh Smith Lake. According to the 2017 Hugh Smith Lake and 2021 Auke Creek and Berners River stock assessments, these stocks are not overfished and not subject to overfishing.
The status of coho populations in California and the Pacific Northwest varies. As of 2022 many individual stocks are not overfished, but one is listed as endangered, and three are considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Populations are affected by: 1) Changes in ocean and climatic conditions; 2) Habitat loss from dam construction and urban development; 3) Degraded water quality from agricultural and logging practices.

Population conservation efforts include: 1) Removal and modification of dams that obstruct salmon migration; 2) Restoration of degraded habitat; 3) Acquisition of key habitat and 4) Improvements to water quality and instream flow. The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund supports the restoration of salmon species.

Chinook Salmon

Chinook salmon (Scientific name: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white bellies when they’re in the ocean. Also known as king salmon, spring salmon, tyee, winter, quinnat and blackmouth, they have black spots on the upper half of the body and on both lobes of the tail fin. and have a black pigment along the gum line, thus the nickname "blackmouth."[Source: NOAA]

In fresh water, when they are about to spawn, Chinook change to olive brown, red, or purplish. This color change is particularly evident in males. Spawning adult males can be distinguished by their hooked upper jaw. Females can be distinguished by a torpedo-shaped body, robust mid-section, and blunt nose.

Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, hence the name “king salmon.” They can grow as long as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) and up to 58.5 kilograms (129 pound)s, but typical length and weight of mature fish are about one meter (3 feet) and 13 kilograms (30 pounds).

In North America, Chinook salmon range from the Monterey Bay area of California to the Chukchi Sea area of Alaska. They spend their early life growing and feeding in freshwater streams, estuaries, and associated wetlands. The remainder of their life is spent foraging in the ocean before returning to the streams and tributaries where they were born to spawn..

Young Chinook salmon feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods, and other crustaceans. Older Chinook primarily feed on other fish. Fish (such as whiting and mackerel) and birds eat juvenile Chinook salmon. Marine mammals, such as orcas and sea lions, and sharks eat adult salmon. Salmon are also primary prey for Southern Resident killer whales, an endangered species.

Chinook Salmon Migrations and Spawning

Chinook salmon moving upstream

Chinook salmon are anadromous — they hatch in freshwater streams and rivers then migrate out to the saltwater environment of the ocean to feed and grow. They spend a few years feeding in the ocean, then return to their natal streams or rivers to spawn, generally in summer or early fall. Chinook salmon sexually mature between the ages of 2 and 7 but are typically 3 or 4 years old when they return to spawn. [Source: NOAA]

Chinook dig out gravel nests (redds) on stream bottoms where they lay their eggs. Juveniles in fresh water (fry) have well-developed parr marks on their sides (the pattern of vertical bars and spots useful for camouflage). Before juveniles migrate to the sea, they lose their parr marks and gain the dark back and light belly characteristic of fish living in open water.

All Chinook salmon die after spawning. After salmon spawn and die, salmon carcasses are a valuable source of energy and nutrients to the river ecosystem. Carcasses have been shown to improve newly hatched salmon growth and survival by contributing nitrogen and phosphorous compounds to streams..

Chinook Salmon Fishing

In 2021, U.S. commercial landings of Chinook salmon totaled 3.6 million kilograms (8 million pounds) and were valued at $43.8 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database. Most of the Chinook in the U.S. market comes from U.S. and Canadian fisheries. [Source: NOAA]

Chinook salmon are harvested using a variety of gear types. Troll vessels catch salmon by "trolling" their lines with bait or lures through groups of feeding fish. To retrieve hooked fish, the lines are wound on spools by hand or hydraulically, and the fish are pulled aboard when alongside the vessel. The troll fishery produces low-volume, high-quality product. Chinook are also harvested in commercial seine and gillnet fisheries (described here), both in fisheries targeting stocks of Chinook and as bycatch in fisheries targeting other species of salmon. Fishing gear used to catch Chinook salmon rarely contacts the ocean floor and has little impact on habitat. Bycatch is low and usually consists of other salmon species.

Chinook salmon caught in Astoria Oregon in 1910
Chinook salmon are a favorite catch of recreational fishermen. They use a variety of fishing gear to harvest Chinook salmon. To ensure recreational fisheries are sustainable, West Coast anglers are only allowed to keep a certain number of salmon per fishing trip. In Alaska, regulations vary by area and individual fisheries. Recreational fisheries in high-use areas (Cook Inlet, Southeast Alaska, Copper River) are regulated through management plans that allocate fish between competing commercial and recreational fishermen.

Salmon is an important source of spiritual and physical sustenance for Western Indian tribes and Alaska natives, and salmon are culturally important to many other residents of these areas. Subsistence fishermen use a variety of fishing gear to harvest Chinook salmon.

Chinook Salmon Fishing Management

NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage Chinook salmon on the West Coast. The species are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan: Every year, the council reviews reports of the previous fishing season and current estimates of salmon abundance. Using this information, they make recommendations for management of the upcoming fishing season. Their general goal is to allow fishermen to harvest the maximum amount of salmon that will support the fishery while preventing overharvest of the resource and ensuring that salmon populations with low abundance can rebuild. [Source: NOAA]

Specific management measures vary year to year depending on current salmon abundance, and include size limits, season length, quotas, and gear restrictions. Management of Chinook salmon must also comply with laws such as the Endangered Species Act. One of the threats to recovery of endangered Southern Resident killer whales on the West Coast is the availability of their preferred prey, Chinook salmon. Every year the fishery management council considers the prey needs of this endangered population before setting commercial fishing catch limits for Chinook.

Final recommendations are implemented by NOAA Fisheries. Check here for the current season’s management. State and tribal managers use council management recommendations to shape their policies for inland fisheries, to ensure that conservation objectives are met. Salmon fishery management largely relies on in-season assessment of how many salmon return to fresh water to spawn. Managers set harvest levels based on these returns. When abundance is high and the number of fish returning is much higher than that needed to meet escapement goals, harvest levels are set higher. In years of low abundance, harvest levels are lowered.

Chinook Salmon Stocks and Conservation

There are numerous stocks of Chinook salmon. Some are above target population levels, others below. Some are wild and some are hatchery-raised, but all are managed using strict regulations to balance the needs of people and other marine life. Fishing Rate: Managers set fishing rates to avoid jeopardizing the survival and recovery of Chinook salmon stocks that are below their target levels. Fishing gear used to catch Chinook salmon rarely contacts the ocean floor and has little impact on habitat. In the U.S., the key habitat issue for salmon recovery is restoring quality salmon habitat that once supported robust and thriving salmon runs. Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch. [Source: NOAA]

In Alaska, the status of Chinook salmon stocks varies. Some stocks are in decline, while others are steady or increasing. None are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to the 2017 stock assessment, the Eastern North Pacific Far North Migrating stock is not overfished and not subject to overfishing. The status of Chinook stocks in California and the Pacific Northwest varies. Some stocks are in decline, while others are steady or increasing. As of 2022, two populations of Chinook salmon are listed as endangered, and seven are listed as threatened under the ESA.

Things that affect and can improve Chinook salmon populations. See Coho Salmon Above

chinook salmon distribution

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, NOAA, range maps from the Wild Salmon Center

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web (ADW) animaldiversity.org; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noaa.gov; Wikipedia, National Geographic, Live Science, BBC, Smithsonian, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, Lonely Planet Guides and various books and other publications.

Last Updated April 2023