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Chinook Salmon
The Chinook, or king, salmon is the largest and most valuable Pacific salmon, a fish that hatches in rivers, grows at sea and returns to spawn.
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The idea
The Chinook salmon is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name comes from the Chinookan peoples, and it is also called king salmon, spring salmon, quinnat, tyee and blackmouth. Its scientific name, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is based on the Russian common name for the fish, chavycha.
Chinook are anadromous. They hatch in fresh water and grow in the ocean before returning to rivers to spawn. They are native to the North Pacific Ocean and to rivers of western North America from California to Alaska, as well as Asian rivers from northern Japan to Arctic Siberia. Like other salmon, they usually return to the river where they were born. Scientists think salmon use Earth's magnetic field to find the general area of their home river, then use their sense of smell to find its mouth. All species of Pacific salmon die after spawning.
A large Chinook is a prized catch for anglers, and its flesh is valued for its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Along the California coast, NOAA lists many causes of harm to Chinook. They include overfishing, lost river habitat, dams for power, poor ocean conditions and hatchery practices. Salmon runs are also a major feeding event for predators such as grizzly bears and bald eagles.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 2
What does it mean that Chinook salmon are anadromous?
Composition
what it's made of
- Freshwater start — Young salmon hatch and spend their early life in rivers or lakes.
- Ocean years — Adults live at sea, where they gain most of their body mass.
- Spawning run — Mature adults swim back upriver, usually to the river where they were born.
- Gravel spawning beds — Salmon spawn on the gravel beds of small creeks, and Pacific salmon die afterward.
- Native range — The North Pacific and rivers from California to Alaska and from northern Japan to Siberia.
Connection
how it relates
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- Salmon were the core food of Native peoples along the Columbia River. Since the early 20th century, dams built across the river for power and other uses have created barriers to fish migration. In 1967, Michigan's Department of Natural Resources put Chinook into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to control the alewife, an invasive fish.
- Now
- By the end of 2024, four dams on the Klamath River had been removed to restore its fish habitat. In 2023, conservation groups filed a petition to list spring-run Chinook in several Washington river basins under the Endangered Species Act.
- Next
- The future of Chinook runs will likely depend on habitat protection, ocean conditions and how dams and hatcheries are managed. Some threatened populations could recover, though results will probably differ from river to river.