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Salmon 101
In light of the recently announced record sockeye return -- and tomorrow's show about it -- we thought it would be a good time for a brief introduction to the various salmon that swim in our local waters. Because, as even a cursory glance at the prices at your local fish counter will tell you, all salmon are not created equal. Here's a primer on a few of the salmon you're most likely to find run into:
Chinook Salmon
Aka King and Blackmouth
Mostly dark green or brown, chinook are the largest salmon in the Pacific Northwest, often exceeding 40 pounds at maturity. Chinook can be easily recognized by their black lower gums, thus the term "blackmouth."
Chum Salmon
Aka Dog and Keta
Chum salmon are distinguished by their reddish purple color and the large, canine-like teeth of spawning males. (They earned the name "dog salmon" for ending up in Alaskan fishermens' dog chow.) Chum are second in size and weight to chinook, and spend most of their lives in the salty waters of rivers closest to the sea, rarely moving far inland. Chum are often canned.
Coho Salmon
Aka Silver
Similar in appearance and life-cycle to chinook salmon, coho are slightly smaller and have red-tipped gills. Additionally, the lower gums of coho salmon are lighter than the black gums of chinook.
Kokanee Salmon
Identical in appearance to chinook, kokanee salmon are non-anadromous, spending their entire lives in freshwater lakes.
Pink Salmon
Aka Humpback
The smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon, pink salmon are named for their pink scales, which can also be silvery green. Like chum, pink salmon are often canned.
Sockeye Salmon
Aka Red
Recognizable by the bright red hue of adult spawners, sockeye are prized by chefs and the third-most abundant salmon after pink and chum.
Steelhead
Aka Steelhead Salmon
Steelhead are the same species as rainbow trout, and bear their tell-tale bright, multi-colored scales. Unlike rainbow trout, which spend their whole lives in freshwater lakes, steelhead are anadromous, traveling to the sea to mature before returning to their freshwater homes to spawn.
For everything else you wanted to know about Pacific salmon:
- The National Marine Fisheries Service's guide to marine and anadromous fish
- The National Wildlife Refuge's guide to Pacific Salmon populations and distribution
- The Northwest Fisheries Science Center's Salmon Recovery Team
- What's Cooking America's salmon recipes
- The Oregon Salmon Commission
- King County, WA's guide to identifying salmon and trout
- Sustainable Northwest on sustainable salmon fishing
Photo credit: cobalt123 / Flickr / Creative Commons
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Varieties of Salmon and flavors in incomprehensible outside if the Pacific Northwest. A number of years ago I was in a restaurant in Atlanta that had Salmon on the menu. When I asked the waitstaff what kind of salmon it was he regarded the question as incomprehensible. The non-pacifc northwesterners at the table immediately asked me, "What kinds are there?" Well.... They couldn't get over the fact that there were significant differences.
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I have always wondered why canned Salmon comes in a tapered can - nothing else does.
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