What is chinook salmon? We learn!

When we first heard this word, we ask, what is chinook salmon? It turns out that this is a kind of fish. It is widely distributed. Refers to the anadromous fish of the Salmonidae family. It's still not very clear ?! Then we will characterize it as the largest Pacific salmon. Its size on average reaches one meter, and in rare cases there are fish and more - up to two meters. Typically, this depends on the habitat. For example, the American chinook salmon grows to a maximum of 1.5 meters, while in the waters of Kamchatka its length varies within 1.8 meters.

Every real fisherman knows what a chinook is. After all, it is one of the few that reaches a weight of sixty kilograms. There are cases when specimens came across and a bit larger.

Americans proudly call it the Indian name Chinook, or royal salmon, and our Japanese neighbors appropriated her the title of prince of salmon.

The environment in which she lives

Its main habitats are the Anadyr River, the Commander Islands, Kamchatka, the Amur River and Hokkaido, as well as the region from Alaska to Southern California, the Aleutian Islands. Quite widely distributed in Canada. In these parts, any local resident, and not just fishermen, knows what chinook is.

Appearance

On the back, dorsal and caudal fin there are small round black spots. The number of its gill rakers is more than fifteen, which is different from other salmonids. During spawning, the male becomes blacker, red spots appear on it. Their nuptial outfit is not as pronounced as, say, a chum or pink salmon. Not the largest individuals of chinooks can easily be confused with coho salmon, but it has black lower gums, and dark spots are located not only on the back, they also cover the entire caudal fin.

Marriage period

For spawning, it enters large rivers, can climb them over great distances, sometimes they reach four thousand kilometers. That's how hardy the chinook salmon is. Photos of this process can often be seen in various magazines. It spawns in the summer months, and in North America it can also do in autumn and winter. This fish is so strong that it is not even a very strong water stream. She knocks out the pit for spawning in the rocks and cobblestones. He lays about fourteen thousand eggs, somewhat larger than the chum. Fry for a long time remain in the river, sometimes this period reaches two years. Some males grow there up to eighteen centimeters, and these are three, in rare cases four years.

Many fishermen are very interested in what the chinook says. It all depends on who you're going to catch. If the young fish, then they in nature feed mainly flying insects and their larvae, fry and small crustaceans. In the sea, where the chinook is larger, squid and plankton are added to its diet. The ration is also often made up of fish that are smaller than it.

What is chinook for the inhabitants of Kamchatka?

First of all, it is a very valuable commercial fish. In addition to its large size, the chinook is famous for its unusual taste. This is food and a source of income for people living in Kamchatka.