Coho salmon
Coho salmon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Salmoniformes |
Family: | Salmonidae |
Genus: | Oncorhynchus |
Species: | O. kisutch
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Binomial name | |
Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792)
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The coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch;
Description
During their
Reproduction
Once the mature coho has reached three or four years old, it swims up freshwater rivers and streams to spawn (reproduce). Once reaching a suitable location, females "dig" a divot in the riverbed by flexing her tail and loosing rocks from the riverbed. This will be one of many of her nesting sites (sometimes she will create six or seven), each called a redd.[7] Females are extremely aggressive during this time towards other females over nesting sites, and towards males until she finishes digging.[7] Males will then fight over females for who gets to mate with the female. Once the female has chosen a mate, usually the largest male, she will lay her eggs onto the redd, while the male simultaneously releases milt (sperm) onto the eggs. Other males will also sneak in to release their milt during this time. Once the female has laid all her eggs, she will cover the eggs with rocks and pebbles using her tail. Salmon have a trait called semelparity, where the adults will then stop eating as their body slowly deteriorates until they die.[7]
Life stages
The eggs hatch in the late winter or early spring after six to seven weeks in the
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Fingerling
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Male ocean phase coho
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Male freshwater phase coho
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Breeding male
Range
The traditional range of the coho salmon runs along both sides of the North Pacific Ocean, from
Human uses
Fisheries
The total North Pacific harvest of coho salmon in 2010 exceeded 6.3 million fish, of which 4.5 million were taken in the United States and 1.7 million in Russia. This corresponds to some 21,000
Game fish
In North America, coho salmon is a game fish in fresh and salt water from July to December, especially with light fishing tackle. It is one of the most popular sport fish in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Its popularity is due in part to the reckless abandon which it frequently displays chasing bait and lure while in salt water, and the large number of coastal streams it ascends during its spawning runs. Its habit of schooling in relatively shallow water, and often near beaches, makes it accessible to anglers on the banks, as well as in boats.[15]
It is also pursued by fly fishermen in salt water.[16]
Nutritional value
Ocean-caught coho is regarded as excellent table fare. It has a moderate to high amount of fat, which is considered to be essential when judging taste. Only spring chinook and sockeye salmon have higher levels of fat in their meat. When smoking coho it is best to use a cold-smoking rather than hot-smoking process, due to their lower fat content compared to sockeye and chinook.
Cultural tradition
Historically coho, along with other species, has been a staple in the diet of several indigenous peoples, who would also use it to trade with other tribes farther inland. The coho salmon is also a symbol of several tribes, representing life and sustenance.
Ecology
In their freshwater stages, coho feed on plankton and aquatic invertebrates in the benthos and water column, such as Chironomids, midge larvae, and terrestrial insects that fall into the water.[17] Upon entering the marine environment, they switch to a diet of plankton and fish, with fish making up most of their diets after a certain size.[18] Adult coho feed on a vast variety of prey items that depend on the region they reside in during their second year at sea. Spawning habitats are small streams with stable gravel substrates.
Salmonid species on the west coast of the United States have experienced dramatic declines in abundance during the past several decades as a result of human-induced and natural factors.[19]
Conservation
The U.S.
The Puget Sound/Strait of Georgia ESU in Washington is an NMFS "Species of Concern".[24] Species of Concern are those species for which insufficient information prevents resolving the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's concerns regarding status and threats and whether to list the species under the ESA.
On May 6, 1997, NMFS, on behalf of the
More than 680,000 coho salmon returned to Oregon in 2009, double that of 2007. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife required volunteers to herd fish into hatchery pens. Some creeks were reported to have so many fish, "you could literally walk across on the backs of coho," claimed a Portland television station. Lower temperatures in 2008 North Pacific waters brought in fatter plankton, which, along with greater outflows of Columbia River water, fed the resurgent populations. The 2009 run was so large, food banks were able to freeze 40 tonnes (39 long tons; 44 short tons) for later use.[26]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Gehr, Susan; Bright. Karuk Dictionary.
- ^ a b c NOAA Fisheries (2023-10-12). "Coho Salmon | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
- ^ PMID 28568502.
- ISBN 978-0-7748-0359-5.
- ^ "Coho Salmon" (PDF). Adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Why do salmon change color and die after they spawn? | U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ^ PMID 28568502.
- ^ "Coho Salmon". Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
- ^ "Columbia River Basin". 2009-02-25. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ISSN 1548-8446.
- ^ "Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch". Michigan.gov. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Danish fishermen catch salmon not from Denmark". The Local Denmark. The Local. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ a b Annual Statistics 2010: Commercial salmon catch by species and country North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Statistical Yearbook. Retrieved 2015 March 16. These numbers do not include fish taken in Russian waters by foreign fleet.
- ^ (Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, 2003, p. 2)
- ^ Sisnyak, Nancy; Ragan, Ryan. "Fishing for Coho Salmon". Adfg.alaska.gov. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ Caputi, Gary (28 August 2020). "Fly Fishing for Silver Salmon". Saltwatersportsman.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- doi:10.1139/z80-077.
- .
- ^ "Pacific salmonids threats". U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Evolutionary Significant Units". U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. 2005.
- ^ "Coho salmon ESUs". Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- ^ "Endangered Species Act". Nmfs.noaa.gov. 9 July 2021.
- ^ "2005 status review report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- ^ "Species of Concern". Nmfs.noaa.gov. 9 July 2021.
- ^ 62 Fed.Reg. 24588
- ^ Millman, Joel (January 21, 2010). "Fish Boom Makes Splash in Oregon". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
References
- "Oncorhynchus kisutch". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2005). "Oncorhynchus kisutch" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.
- "Coho salmon in the Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
External links
- Use of three microhabitats by juvenile coho salmon in Jordan Creek during the winter, 2004-2005 / by Ryan J. Briscoe. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.