Category Archives: Fish

Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

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True cod belong to the genus Gadus. The two most common members of the genus Gadus are the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and the Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). These two species are similar in appearance, reproductive biology, and lifecycles. Pacific cod are also known as grey cod, gray cod, greyfish, or grayfish.

Pacific cod range from Japan to the Bering Strait and the Gulf of Alaska and south as far as Northern California. Pacific cod are bottom dwellers and are usually found between depths of 40 to 1800 ft. (12-549 m). They tend to move into deeper water in the fall and winter.

A Pacific cod’s body is elongate and ranges in color from grey to brown on the back and sides to a pale cream on the stomach. Mottled spots or pale areas cover the backs and sides. A cod has a triangular tail, three rounded dorsal fins, and two anal fins. The fins are dusky colored and have white edges. The upper jaw of a cod extends over the lower jaw, and it is easy to identify a Pacific cod by its single chin barbel, or whisker, that has a length nearly equal to its eye diameter. Female cod can grow to 58 inches (147 cm) in length and weigh 55 lbs. (25 kg) Males are slightly smaller and can reach a length of 55 inches (141 cm) and weigh 44 lbs. (20 kg).

Female cod reach sexual maturity when they are four to five years old at a length of 20 to 23 inches (50-58 cm). In Alaska, most spawning activity occurs in March. Males court females by displaying their fins and grunting. A male and female then pair, and the male swims upside down under the female while she releases her eggs and he releases his sperm. The fertilized eggs then sink to the bottom where they remain for eight to 23 days before the hatch. A newly-hatched cod enters a planktonic phase for the next ten weeks while its body weight increases by 40-fold. When it is approximately 0.79 inches (2 cm) the cod moves to the sea floor and begins eating benthic crustaceans, such as isopods and small crabs. After six months, the cod is approximately 3.1 inches (8 cm) long, and by the end of the first year, it has attained a length of 5.5 – 7.1 inches (14-18 cm). Small cod eat mostly invertebrates, while larger Pacific cod feed on invertebrates and fish.

Cod live a maximum of 18 years. They are plagued by parasites, including the cod worm, Lernaeocera branchialis. Cod worms have a complex lifecycle. They begin as free-swimming larvae but then hook to the front of a flatfish or a lumpsucker. The worms penetrate the flesh of the fish with a fine filament and suck the blood of their host. The worms then mate, and the female worm finds a cod and clings to the cod’s gills, where it then penetrates the body of the cod and enters its heart. The front part of the worm forms branches and burrows into the main artery of the cod and extracts nutrients for itself and its eggs from the cod’s blood. Other parasites also infect cod, and anglers commonly catch cod covered by sores.

Cod are important food fish for larger fish, sharks, and marine mammals, including the endangered Stellar sea lion. They are also a commercially valuable food fish for humans.
Next week, I’ll write more about the importance of cod as a commercial species, and I’ll discuss the various methods of harvesting them.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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What is a Cod?

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Four species of fish in the Gulf of Alaska have the common name “cod,” but only two of these species, the tomcod and Pacific grey cod, are true cod. Common fish names are often misleading and confusing. For example, brown trout (Salmo trutta) belong to the genus Salmo, while cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are in the genus Oncorhynchus. To confuse the issue even more, brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and Dolly Varden trout (Salvelinus malma) are char, not trout. Also, in the southern United States, bullheads are catfish, while in Alaska, we call sculpins bullheads.

True Cod and Imposter Cod

Lingcod

Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) and black cod (Anoplopoma fimbria) are not only unrelatedto Pacific grey cod (Gadus macrocephalus) and Pacific tomcod (Microgadus proximus), but they look quite different from the two “true” cod species. Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), though, a species closely related to a Pacific grey cod, isn’t even referred to as a cod. With these confusing common names, we can forgive an angler for not knowing whether he has caught a “true cod” or some unrelated fish.

Pollock

Last week, I wrote about the crash of the Pacific cod population in the Gulf of Alaska. In that post, I was discussing only Pacific grey cod. Over the next few weeks, I’ll write posts about the true cod species as well as the cod imposters in Alaskan waters. I hope to clear up any confusion surrounding cod and their common names.

Pacific Tomcod

Tomcod

The Pacific tomcod (Microgadus proximus) is one of the smaller members of the cod family, reaching a maximum size of 12 inches (30.5 cm). Its body is slender and covered with small, thin scales, but it feels smooth to the touch. It ranges in color from olive green to brown on its dorsal surface and creamy white on its ventral surface. Like its cousin the grey cod, a tomcod has a barbel on its chin, three dorsal fins, two anal fins, a large head, and a large mouth with small teeth. A tomcod’s barbel is smaller than a Pacific grey cod’s barbel, and unlike a Pacific cod, a tomcod’s dorsal fins do not contain spines. Despite these differences, a tomcod looks very much like a small Pacific grey cod.

Tomcod range from central California to western Alaska and can be found anywhere from the surface to as deep as 700 feet. They feed on zooplankton, shrimp, worms, and small fish and in turn, are a food source for larger fish, seals, and sea lions. Because of their small size, tomcod are not an important species for either commercial or sport fishermen, but they are a good food fish and have a sweet, subtle flavor.

Next week, I’ll discuss grey cod. I have already posted about their declining numbers in Alaskan waters, but I’ll delve more into their biology, importance in the ecosystem, and their value as a human food source. The following week, I’ll point out the differences between Pacific and Atlantic cod.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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What Happened to the Pacific Grey Cod?

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In October 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made a shocking announcement. Pacific cod (or grey cod) stocks in the Gulf of Alaska had declined 71% since 2015 and 83% since 2013. Cod, once one of the most plentiful fish in Alaskan waters, suddenly became a rare catch, devastating one of the most lucrative commercial fisheries in the state. Biologists scrambled to learn why cod were dying and why the few cod caught weighed less than normal and appeared malnourished.

While researchers yet do not have empirical evidence to support their theory, they have a good idea why cod populations have crashed. During the winter of 2013/2014, scientists mapped an unusually warm, large, circular body of seawater in the North Pacific Ocean. This mass of water didn’t cool as winter progressed but instead hovered several degrees above the normal winter temperature. Scientists nicknamed the mass of warm water the “Blob.” In February 2014, the Blob remained 4.5° F (2.5°C) warmer than the average February ocean temperature.

Warm water temperatures persisted throughout 2014, and oceanographers noted these were the warmest temperatures ever measured in the North Pacific Ocean since climatologists began recording ocean temperatures. Along with these warm water temperatures, a static high-pressure region in the atmosphere persisted throughout much of 2014, resulting in a lack of the normal wind-generated currents that stir the surface waters of the North Pacific.

The Blob

This warm, calm mass of water produced far-reaching effects on the biology of the North Pacific. Without an upwelling of cooler water and nutrients, the surface waters of the warm Blob became stagnant, resulting in reduced phytoplankton production. Phytoplankton is the platform for the ocean food pyramid, and without a healthy supply of phytoplankton, the pyramid collapses. Zooplankton can’t survive unless they have phytoplankton to eat, and without zooplankton, many fish species, including the juveniles of most species, will starve. Plankton-eating fish provide the food supply for larger fish, and all fish, mammals, and birds dependent on marine life to survive will suffer from a reduction in phytoplankton productivity.

A lack of food was not the only problem Pacific cod faced, though. The increased ocean temperatures raised their metabolism while reducing the available food. With less food, the average size of the cod dropped. A 2015 NOAA survey showed cod were the skinniest ever recorded, and at this same time, mortality rates skyrocketed for the younger age classes of cod, an indication the cod population would not recover for many years. The warm water and lack of nutrients also negatively affected cod egg production.

Will the Pacific grey cod recover? Biologists don’t know the answer to this question, but even if cod populations begin to recover now, they will not be commercially viable until at least 2021. The crash of the cod fishery has had a negative impact on the economies of Alaska fishing ports, and the decline of cod is certain to impact the food web of the North Pacific.

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Chalky vs. Mushy Halibut

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How much does a pound of halibut cost in your neighborhood grocery store? If you can even find halibut for sale, it probably costs more than $20 per pound, and if you decided to buy it, you expect your butcher to hand you a perfect chunk of pristine, white fish. Pacific halibut is one of the most sought-after food fish in the world. When cooked, halibut has a subtle flavor and a flaky texture, but when fishermen report catching halibut with sub-prime flesh conditions, the news alarms sport and commercial fishermen, fish processors, chefs, and consumers. Chalky and mushy flesh conditions are the two biggest concerns for halibut caught in Alaska.

What is the difference between chalky and mushy halibut, and can a human safely eat the meat of a fish afflicted with either condition? The two flesh conditions might both look unappetizing, but they are very different from each other. One is caused by the rigors of an athlete trying to stay in the ocean and out of your boat, while the other is a sign of a malnourished fish. Let me explain in more detail.

Chalky Halibut

When an animal exerts itself, it uses oxygen to break down glucose and produce energy. During intense exercise, such as when a sprinter runs a race, he might not be able to breathe enough oxygen to complete the chemical process to produce energy. When the body does not have sufficient oxygen, it produces lactic acid, which your body can convert anaerobically (without oxygen) into energy. Producing anaerobic energy works great in the short term, but during prolonged physical exertion, lactic acid can build up in the bloodstream and muscles faster than the animal can burn it, lowering the pH of the muscle tissue.

The blood and muscles of a healthy athlete, as well as those of a healthy fish, will slowly dump excess lactic acid once the athlete or fish stops exerting and begins breathing normally again. When a fish is killed at the end of a long fight, though, the excess lactic acid stays in its flesh. Small halibut in the 10 lb. to 15 lb. range, caught during the warmest part of the summer, are the most susceptible to excess lactic acid in their tissues.

The meat from a halibut with a build-up of lactic acid often looks white and cooked as soon as you fillet the fish, but it sometimes takes several hours before the flesh turns chalky. Instead of the semi-translucent appearance of normal halibut meat, chalky halibut is white and opaque. Chalky halibut looks like raw halibut after the meat has marinated in lemon juice for several hours. Chalky halibut is safe to eat, but the meat often tastes tough and dry when cooked.

Mushy Halibut Syndrome

As the name implies, halibut with this syndrome have large sections of flesh which are soft instead of firm, and sometimes the flesh is so mushy, it feels like jelly. A mushy halibut is often obvious even before you fillet it because the fish looks emaciated, and indeed, biologists think malnourishment causes this condition.

Mushy halibut syndrome is most prevalent in halibut in the 15-20-lb. range. Although fish pathologists have yet to pinpoint the cause of this condition, they have not found parasites or infectious agents in affected fish, and they do not believe it is a disease that can be transmitted from fish to fish. Microscopic examination of the tissues of mushy halibut reveal a severe loss of muscle mass, and the affected muscles resemble those of animals known to have nutritional deficiencies of vitamin E and selenium.

The muscle atrophy in mushy halibut causes weakness in the fish and compromises the halibut’s ability to capture prey, leading to further malnutrition and weakness. This syndrome is most common in areas where populations of prey fish have declined, and the stomach contents of mushy halibut show many have consumed small crabs instead of the forage fish they normally eat. Researchers wonder if crab lacks some of the nutrients necessary for halibut to thrive.

Mushy halibut is safe to eat, but when cooked, it falls apart and resembles oatmeal.
According to the International Halibut Commission, neither chalky nor mushy halibut are common, but the prevalence of these conditions varies between years and locations. As the oceans warm, researchers worry these conditions will become more common.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

What is the difference between Atlantic and Pacific Salmon?

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How are Atlantic and Pacific salmon related to each other, and how do their lifecycles differ?

As their names suggest, Atlantic salmon are originally from the Atlantic Ocean, while Pacific Salmon are from the Pacific Ocean. Atlantic and Pacific salmon belong to the family Salmonidae, but Pacific salmon belong to the genus Oncorhynchus while Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are the largest members of the genus Salmo. Atlantic salmon are more closely related to certain species of trout, such as brown trout (Salmo trutta), than they are to Pacific salmon.

There is only one species of Atlantic salmon, and members of this species are silvery with large, black spots on their gill covers and back. The five species of Pacific salmon are pink salmon, also known as humpies; chum salmon, also known as dog salmon; red salmon, also known as sockeyes; silver salmon, also known as coho; and king salmon, also known as chinook. Pacific salmon, like Atlantic salmon, are sleek and silvery in their marine phase, but once they enter fresh water, they go through significant physical changes, and each species has distinctive markings. The photos below show a sockeye salmon in the marine phase and in the spawning phase when the salmon returns to freshwater.

The lifecycles of natural populations of Atlantic and Pacific salmon are similar. Atlantic salmon spend one to four years in the ocean before returning to spawn in the freshwater stream where they were born. One big difference, though, is Atlantic salmon don’t always die after they spawn. Pacific salmon are semelparous, meaning they die after they spawn. Atlantic salmon are iteroparous which means they might recover, return to the sea, and repeat the migration and spawning pattern. Spawning takes a huge physiological toll on a salmon, though, and most Atlantic salmon do not survive to spawn a second or third time.

Are Atlantic or Pacific salmon healthier to eat?

Controversy swirls over the health benefits of eating Atlantic and Pacific salmon. This debate has nothing to do with wild Atlantic salmon, though. Most salmon sold in the U.S. are farmed Atlantic salmon. Salmon sold as “wild” salmon are Pacific salmon. Sadly, most wild Atlantic salmon stocks were wiped out or severely depleted years ago by over-fishing, but in a few places, these wild stocks are recovering.

The question then becomes is farmed or wild salmon healthier to eat, or does it matter?

What are the health differences between eating a wild or farmed salmon?

Salmon is good for you. Both wild and farmed salmon are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, a fat with many health benefits. Farmed salmon, though, also have other fats which are not as good for humans. A half-pound filet of wild salmon has 281 calories, while a half-pound fillet of farmed salmon contains 412 calories. Farmed salmon is loaded with twice as much fat as wild salmon and three times more saturated fat. Wild salmon packs more calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc and less sodium than farmed salmon. Depending on the farm, farmed salmon might have higher levels of contaminants than wild salmon, but biologists believe farmed salmon is safe to eat.

Most experts agree if you have a choice, eat wild salmon, but farmed salmon is better than no salmon, and farmed salmon is more readily available, can be found year-round, and usually costs less.

I think the biggest difference is taste. Wild Pacific salmon has a rich, robust flavor, while farmed salmon often tastes bland.

Could farmed fish threaten native species?

One of the biggest concerns biologists have about farmed salmon is that the salmon will escape their pens and become an invasive species. How these farmed salmon might affect wild salmon populations, no one knows, but biologists fear farmed salmon might spread parasites and diseases. Atlantic and Pacific salmon can’t interbreed because they belong to different genera, but these salmon have similar lifecycles. Would escaped farmed fish compete with native fish for habitat and food?

In 2017, 300,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from a farm in the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, Washington, and alarmed Alaska Fish and Game biologists sent out an alert to all anglers to be on the lookout for invasive Atlantic salmon.

What is the difference?

Atlantic salmon are large trout, but Pacific and Atlantic salmon look similar and have comparable life cycles. Atlantic salmon don’t necessarily die after they spawn, but Pacific salmon always die after they return to a freshwater stream to spawn.

Atlantic salmon are rare in nature because over-fishing has decimated their stocks. Atlantic salmon fillets you find in the grocery store come from farmed salmon. If you see a Pacific salmon fillet in a store or restaurant in the U.S., it almost certainly originated from a wild salmon.

Both wild and farmed salmon are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, but farmed salmon contains other fats not good for you. Farmed salmon fillets appear paler than wild salmon, and they are not as flavorful as wild Pacific salmon.


Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

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Why Do Salmon Jump And Other Questions

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Why do salmon jump?

This is the question our guests most frequently ask about salmon as they watch fish pop out of the water around them. The answer is: no one knows. Some speculate salmon jump to loosen their eggs from the membrane encasing them, but males also jump, so this reasoning doesn’t work. Another explanation is they jump to catch flying insects, but their jumping behavior increases in frequency as they near their spawning stream at the same time their digestive system is shutting down and they stop feeding, so this explanation also is not valid.

I like to tell our guests the salmon they see jumping are teenagers. As a salmon prepares to spawn, its hormones rage and its body changes color and shape. These jumping fish are the equivalent of a human teenager, so they act like teenagers. While this explanation is always good for a laugh, there is no scientific evidence to support it.

My opinion, for what it’s worth (and not much, since there is also no scientific evidence to support this), is salmon have evolved to jump because jumping is beneficial to their survival. Salmon that have inherited the genetic characteristic to jump when they near their home stream are more likely than those who cannot jump to make it upstream and spawn. They then pass along this trait to jump to their offspring. Evolution has selected this jumping trait. Most salmon spawn in small streams and they must navigate shallow water, rapids, and sometimes even waterfalls. If they couldn’t jump, many salmon would never make it to their spawning grounds. Again, this explanation is only my opinion, but I believe it has some merit.

The correct answer to the question, “Why do salmon jump?” is: no one knows.

Do all salmon return to spawn in the same river or stream in which they were born?

No. A small percentage of salmon spawn somewhere other than where they were born. This behavior is called “straying,” and it is adaptive because it allows salmon to colonize streams that do not currently have a salmon population. It also allows salmon to spawn somewhere if the stream where they were born no longer exists. Pink salmon and chum salmon both often spawn close to the mouths of small streams. If these streams are diverted by winter storms, as often happens, the returning salmon will stray to a nearby stream.

When a salmon returns from the ocean, how does it find its spawning stream?

Salmon must navigate a long distance from the open ocean to their spawning stream. Evidence shows they use magnetic cues, the position of the sun, and day length to know when to begin their migration back to their natal stream and how to get there. Once salmon near and enter fresh water, scientists think they use their sense of smell to find not only their home stream or river but the specific tributary or area of the river where they were born. Juvenile salmon imprint on the unique chemical signatures of the waters where they were born and occupied as fry as well as on the waters they migrated through to get to the ocean. When they return to spawn, they follow this chemical smell back to where they were born.

How many salmon eggs hatch, develop, and return as adults to spawn?

Salmon have tough lives. From the egg stage, until they spawn and die, they are a food source for a wide variety of fish, birds, and mammals, including man. Biologists estimate 1 in 1000 eggs will develop, find their way to the ocean, swim back to their natal stream, and spawn. Depending on the species and the age of the fish when she spawns, a female salmon lays between 1000 and 6000 eggs, so the survival rate is not good.

I hope I’ve answered a few of your questions about the amazing Pacific salmon. Next week, I will tackle a big question. What is the difference between Atlantic and Pacific salmon?

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If you haven’t seen my webinar on how I became an author and why I write Alaska wilderness mysteries, this is the link: http://bit.ly/2pcCOo6. If you like it, please share it with your friends. The free book offer is sincere, and there is no catch. Also, please sign up for my free, monthly newsletter about true murder and mystery in Alaska. This month I am writing about the Fairbanks Four. Four young men spent 18 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit. 

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Which Salmon Is It?

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Over the past several weeks, I’ve been writing about Pacific salmon, so this week, I want to pause a minute and review. In their marine phase, the five species of Pacific salmon are hard to tell apart. Their life cycles are similar, and sometimes all five species spawn in the same river/lake system. What are their differences, and how do you tell one species from another?

Perhaps you are thinking, why should I care if I can differentiate between salmon species? Let’s pretend you are fishing in Alaska on a river where all five Pacific salmon species are present. It is legal to keep pink salmon, chums, and cohos, but you must release sockeyes and kings. You catch a beautiful, silvery salmon. You know right away it hasn’t been in fresh water long enough for its color and body shape to change. You also know if it is still silver in color, its flesh will be firm, and it will be good to eat. Is this one of the species you can keep, or must you release this fish?

The size of the fish is a clue, but often, different year classes of a species return to the same river, so size is not definitive. Does the fish have spots, and if so, where and how big? Spots are more visible when a salmon gains its spawning coloration, but if you look closely, the spots are visible in the silvery marine phase. Pink salmon have large, oval spots on the back and both lobes of the tail. Cohos have small black spots on the back and the upper lobe of the tail. Kings have spots on the back and both lobes of the tail. Sockeyes and chums have no spots on their backs or tails.

While you are looking at the tail, do you see any silver streaks? Cohos and kings have silver streaks radiating along the rays of the tail. Chums also have silver streaks but only on half the tail.

The mouth is another distinguishing characteristic. King salmon have a black mouth with a black gum line and a black tongue. Pinks also have a black gum line, but they have a white mouth. The other three species all have white mouths and white gum lines.

A chum salmon has a white tip on the anal fin, an important characteristic to note when trying to differentiate a chum from a sockeye.

Other distinguishing characteristics you can use include the size of the eye, scale size, and the shape of the tail, but none of these are easy to employ unless you are comparing one salmon to another.

Take a look at the salmon you caught. It weighs about four pounds and has spots on the back and both lobes of the tail. You think you see silver streaks in the tail, but you’re not certain, so you check the mouth and note a black gum line and a black mouth. You are allowed to keep the fish if it is a pink,  chum, or silver salmon, but you must release it if it is sockeye or king. Will you be able to grill this salmon for dinner, or should you carefully release it back into the stream?

The size of the fish, and the spots on the back and both lobes of the tail may lead you to jump to the conclusion you caught a pink salmon, and you can keep it. Only pinks and kings have spots on both lobes of the tail, so you can quickly rule out the other three species. The silver streaks in the tail may be hard to see, so you wisely check the mouth. Both pinks and kings have black gum lines, but only king salmon have a black mouth, including a black tongue. Take a closer look at the fish. Are the spots small or are they large and oval? If you said small, you have your answer. You caught a small, probably a mature 3-year-old king salmon, and you must release it.  

It takes practice to identify a silvery Pacific salmon in its marine phase. Commercial fishermen can quickly differentiate one species from another, but if you only occasionally fish for salmon, one silver salmon looks much like the next. If you can’t identify the salmon you caught, you must release it, so if you plan to go salmon fishing in Alaska without a guide, you should do your homework first.

Next week, I’ll write about some of the questions we are commonly asked about salmon, and I will do my best to answer them.

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I am excited to announce the webinar I told you about last week explaining how I became an Alaska wilderness mystery writer and where I get some of my ideas for my novels, has now been released. To see the webinar, follow this link: http://bit.ly/2pcCOo6. I used many of Mike’s photos and my friend, Ryan Augustine’s photos and videos in the webinar, so I think you will enjoy it. Please share the webinar link with your friends and family. If you stay until the end, you can get a free e-book of one of my novels. The purpose of the webinar is to introduce myself and my books to a wider audience, so the more you share this link, the happier I will be! Thank you!

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What Happened to the Big King Salmon?

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Les Anderson landed the largest king salmon ever caught in the Kenai River on May 17th, 1985. Les and a friend were fishing from his boat when he hooked into the monster at 7:00 am, and the rest is a legend. Les and his friend battled the salmon for an hour chasing it up and down the river. Les fell once in the bottom of the boat, and when they finally got the fish near the side of the boat, the net was too small, so they had to tow the salmon to shore and beach it. After all that, Les put the huge salmon in the bottom of the boat while the men continued to fish. Once they were done fishing, Les left the fish in the back of his pickup until 2:00 pm when friends finally convinced him to weigh it. The giant weighed 97 lbs. 4 oz. (44 kg), and many people believe it would have topped 100 lbs. (45.4 kg) if Les had weighed immediately after he caught it.

While Les Anderson’s fish was the largest documented king ever caught in the Kenai, 60-to-80-lb. (27.2-36.2 kg) kings were commonly caught in the river during the 1980s and 90s. Since 2003, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has required that all king salmon greater than 55 inches (139.7 cm) be sealed by ADF&G within three days of the time they are caught. In the last nine years, only one king salmon over 55 inches has been sealed by the department. This fish was 55.5 (141 cm) inches long and weighed 71.1 lbs. (32.3 kg).

What happened to the huge king salmon in the Kenai and other rivers, and more importantly, why are fewer kings returning to spawn in many areas? In the early 1900s, before the Grand Coulee Dam was built, king salmon weighing more than 100 lbs. (45.4 kg) were frequently harvested from the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. Today, kings from the Columbia River average 20 lbs. (9.1 kg). The largest commercially caught king in Alaska was a 126 pounder (57.2 kg) caught in 1949 in a fish trap near Petersburg in Southeast Alaska. Nothing close to that size has been documented since then. Over the past few years, ADF&G has issued emergency fishing closures for numerous king salmon rivers in the state, including the Kuskokwim River in Southwestern Alaska, the Kenai and other rivers in Southcentral Alaska, and rivers in Southeastern Alaska. Biologists are concerned because not enough king salmon are returning to spawn.

What’s happening to the king salmon? There is no shortage of answers to this question. A fisheries professor from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks believes salmon sharks may partially be responsible for the decline, and while he offers evidence that salmon sharks do eat king salmon, it’s hard to understand how sharks could cause the decline of one salmon species but not the others.

Here are some of the other reasons offered for the decline of king salmon runs.

  1. Commercial set-netters and seiners kill too many kings while trying to catch other salmon.
  2. Draggers fishing on the high seas are wiping out the king salmon. Draggers kill as many as 3.4 king salmon per metric ton of pollock caught. Since draggers take over a million tons of pollock each year, as many as 3.4 million king salmon are possibly caught and dumped by this fishery each year.
  3. Professional sport-fishing guides target and kill too many kings, and because their clients are after the big kings, they have altered the gene pool by catching the big kings before they can spawn. This phenomenon is called fishery-induced evolution.
  4. Bank erosion and high bacteria levels caused by too many fishermen standing on the bank or stepping in the river have damaged king spawning areas.
  5. Our oceans are changing, so fewer kings survive their time at sea.
  6. There is no issue. King salmon stocks are as healthy as they ever were, and there is no reason for the ADF&G closures.

I think most people would disagree with #6. There is a problem, and while it is always easy and preferable to point the finger at someone else, I think the blame can be spread among the other five options. We have simply loved our king salmon to death. In the 1980s and 90s, more than 100 sport boats per day trolled for kings in salt water near the Kenai River. More than 500 drift gillnetters deployed nets in Cook Inlet, 450 set-netters strung their nets near the mouth of the Kenai River. Personal-use and subsistence fishermen set their nets, and personal-use dip-netters flocked to the mouths of the Kenai and Kasilof. Dip-netters alone harvested between 500 and 1500 kings a year. In 1989, 160 sportfishing guides were registered to guide on the Kenai. By 1997, 354 guides worked the Kenai, and by 2006, the number of guides had risen to 396. Add in the scores of fishermen who line the shores of the river every year, and it is a wonder any king salmon survives this gauntlet to spawn.

An ADF&G study in 1988 determined more than 90% of the entire early-run of king salmon on the Kenai had been caught at least once before reaching their spawning grounds, and some had been caught two or three times by sport anglers. Catch-and-release restrictions are sometimes enforced in areas where biologists are concerned about king runs, but how many of these fish die after they are released? Salmon returning to fresh water are already stressed. They have stopped eating and are undergoing major physiological changes as they prepare to spawn. The amount of energy they must exert while fighting a fisherman and the stress they undergo while the fisherman releases them can kill them before they can spawn.

There is no one easy answer to what we must do to protect Alaska’s king salmon. The solution will require ADF&G, commercial fishermen from every industry, sportfishing guides, and the public to work together. Can we do it? Time will tell.

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Fishing for King (Chinook) Salmon

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Last week, I mentioned that king (Chinook) salmon are the least abundant of the five Alaska salmon species, but their presence, or more accurately, absence, in the last several years has greatly impacted commercial, sport, and subsistence fishermen. Biologists quickly shut down fisheries in areas where they determine an inadequate number of king salmon have returned to spawn and maintain a healthy population. These closures not only affect sport anglers hoping to land a huge king, but they impact commercial and subsistence fishermen pursuing sockeye and other salmon species. Kings usually spawn in large river systems, the same systems sockeyes favor. When a fishery is closed to protect king salmon, gill-net fishermen and seiners are restricted from fishing in the area since their gear cannot differentiate between salmon species. Next week, I will go into more detail about the controversies swirling around king salmon, but this week I want to explain the different fisheries and even tell you a little about aquaculture for king salmon.

Commercial Fishing for King Salmon

 The king salmon return is small relative to other salmon species, but kings are worth a good deal per pound for commercial fishermen. In 2017 fishermen were paid an average of $5.86 per pound for kings. According to the state, commercial fishermen harvested 251,141 king salmon, worth $17.8 million in 2017.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) shut down commercial and sport fishing for kings in Southeastern Alaska on August 10th, 2017 when data indicated a record-low return of kings for the area. Commercial fishing for kings in Southeastern Alaska is primarily done by trolling. ADF&G opens the area to commercial trolling for kings in July and again in August, but with the poor return of king salmon to the area, ADF&G decided to cancel the August opening.

In other parts of Alaska, king salmon are not individually targeted but are caught in gill nets and purse seines with other salmon species. Even though kings return in relatively small numbers, there is an excellent market for kings because of their large size, rich flavor, and high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.]

I mentioned last week that 3% of all king salmon have white meat instead of red meat. Except for color, there is no difference in the chemical composition of the meat between white and red kings, but red-fleshed kings are more valuable because they look better to the consumer.

Sport and Subsistence Fishing for King Salmon

Anglers consider king salmon one of the ultimate game fish, and people flock to Alaska from all over the world for the thrill of fighting one of these monsters on a rod and reel or with fly gear. The main drawback for king salmon anglers is that relatively few rivers in the state have king salmon runs, and there are few areas on these rivers easily accessible to humans. Also, sockeyes and cohos spawn in the same rivers used by kings, so anglers targeting cohos and sockeyes also descend upon these same few fishing spots. As a result, king salmon fishing in Alaska is often called “combat fishing” with hundreds of anglers lining the banks of the river while sport fishing guides troll the river in front of them. Some folks enjoy the thrill of the combat-fishing drama, but this type of fishing cannot be considered relaxing and peaceful.

Combat fishing is famous on the Kenai and Russian Rivers on the Kenai Peninsula. Every summer, Central Peninsula General Hospital in Soldotna removes an average of 200 fishing lures from anglers who have been hooked by other fishermen. Etiquette rules exist for combat fishing, including yelling, “Fish on!” to let nearby anglers know you have a fish. Neighboring anglers are then supposed to reel in their lines and let you land your salmon as quickly as possible.

Trolling with rigged herring is the favorite method of fishing for kings in salt water. Most freshwater anglers use lures or salmon eggs. From 1989 to 2006, the annual Alaska sport-fish harvest of kings averaged 170,000 fish. Both a fishing license and a king salmon stamp are required to fish for kings, making it a lucrative fishery for the state.

An average of 167,000 king salmon are caught annually by subsistence fishermen. Subsistence fishermen can use a gill net, seine, long line or other methods defined by the Board of Fisheries.

Aquaculture for King Salmon

 While king salmon are not reared in pens in the United States, they are reared and sold in New Zealand and Chile. Half of the global production of king salmon comes from New Zealand, and half of New Zealand’s production is exported, mostly to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries, including Australia. Most farmed kings are raised until they weigh 6.6 to 8.8 lbs. (3-4 kg) before they are harvested.

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Next week, I will cover the controversy swirling around king salmon. Why aren’t kings as big or as plentiful as they used to be?

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King (Chinook) Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

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King salmon, also called Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are the largest Pacific salmon, and they are also the least abundant of the Pacific salmon species. Adult kings average 24 to 36 inches (61 to 91 cm) in length but may be as long as 58 inches (150 cm). They average 10 to 50 lbs. (4.5 to 22.7 kg) but sometimes grow much larger. The world record sport-caught king, caught on May 17th,1985 in the Kenai River in Alaska, weighed 92.25 lbs. (44.11 kg.), and the largest king salmon caught by a commercial fisherman weighed 126 lbs. (57 kg). This fish was caught near Rivers Inlet, British Columbia in the 1970s.

King salmon can be distinguished from other Pacific salmon species by the black spots present on their head and on both the upper and lower lobes of the tail and by their black gums. In their marine phase, kings are dark green to blue on the top of the head and back and silver to white on the sides, belly, and tail. When they return to fresh water to breed, they turn olive brown, red, or purple in color. Males are more brightly colored than females. In the ocean, kings are torpedo-shaped with a heavy mid-section and a blunt nose. During their breeding phase, males develop a hooked nose and enlarged teeth. Fry can be identified by well-developed parr marks extending below the lateral line. When they become smolt and are headed for the ocean, they have bright, silver sides, and the parr marks recede to above the lateral line.

In North America, king salmon range from Monterey Bay in California to the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. On the Asian coast, kings occur from the Anadyr River in Siberia to Hokkaido, Japan. In Alaska, they are most abundant in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Nushagak, Susitna, Kenai, Copper, Alsek, Taku, and Susitna Rivers. Kings have been introduced to many areas, including the Great Lakes of North America, Patagonia, and New Zealand. King salmon are raised in pens in New Zealand and are an important export for the country.

King salmon spawn in fewer rivers than other Pacific salmon because they require larger, deeper rivers and spawn only in areas with good water flow through the gravel. They migrate from the ocean back to their birth streams in the winter and early spring, and while some enter fresh water as early as May, most enter streams in late June or early July. Most Alaska rivers receive only a single run of kings each year. Usually, those entering the streams first are the ones that will travel the furthest. Yukon River kings may travel more than 2000 miles (3219 km) to the headwaters of the Yukon River to spawn.

When a female king arrives in the spawning area, she selects a spot for her nest. She swims to the bottom of the stream, turns on her side and gives several powerful thrusts with her tail to remove gravel from the stream bottom. She continues to dig, resting occasionally, until she has a long, deep nest. While she is digging her nest, she drives off any other females that approach but pays little attention to the males. She is usually accompanied by a dominant male and one or two subordinate males. The dominant male, and occasionally one of the subordinate males, drive off any other male intruders. The males do not help with the nest digging, but the dominant male may court the female by resting beside her and quivering or by swimming over her and touching her dorsal fin with his body and fins.

When the nest is finished, the female drops into it followed by the dominant male and sometimes one or more of the subordinate males. The fish open their mouths, quiver, and release their eggs and sperm. The female then swims to the upstream end of the nest and begins digging a second nest, covering the eggs in the first nest with the gravel she unearths for the second nest. She continues digging four or five nests or more over the next several days and lays between 3,000 and 14,000 eggs. Even after all her eggs are laid, she continues digging in a haphazard manner until she weakens and dies. The male may mate with another female, but he also will soon die.

In Alaska, king salmon eggs hatch in the late winter or early spring, depending both on when they were laid and the temperature of the water. The hatchlings are called alevins, and they live in the gravel for several weeks, receiving nutrition from their attached yolk sac. Two to three weeks later, the young fry, as they are now called, wiggle up through the gravel and begin to feed on their own. Fry in fresh water feed on plankton and insects. Some kings, called “ocean-type,” migrate to saltwater during their first year. “Stream-type” kings remain in fresh water for one or even two years. In Alaska, most kings remain in fresh water one year and then migrate to the ocean as smolts the following spring.

In the ocean, king salmon eat herring, pilchard, sandlance, squid, crustaceans, and other organisms. They are voracious feeders, and they grow rapidly in the ocean, often doubling their weight in just one summer. Most king salmon have pink or red meat, but 3% of all kings have white meat. In Southeast Alaska, as many as 40% of the kings in some runs have white flesh. Biologists are unsure whether the variable meat color is due to genetics or to what the fish eat.

Kings become sexually mature anywhere from their second to their seventh year, so they vary greatly in size when they return to spawn. A mature three-year-old king, called a “jack,” would weigh less than four pounds (1.8 kg) while a mature seven-year-old would probably weigh more than fifty pounds (22.7 kg). Males mature earlier than females, so most jacks are males, and in many spawning runs, males outnumber females in all but the six-and-seven-year age groups.

King salmon are considered relatively uncommon but not rare in Alaska, but in some rivers their numbers have dropped drastically in the past few years. Over the next two weeks, I’ll write about the various fisheries for kings and the controversies swirling around them.

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