RSS FeedsKing Salmon
King salmon is both the largest and least abundant of the salmon family. It is found in the northern fishing waters of the Pacific Ocean and rarely, the Arctic Ocean as well as the Bering Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Sea of Japan, and most of the rivers that flow into these waters; from Hokkaido in northern Japan to the Anadyr River in the former U.S.S.R., and from the Ventura River in southern California to Point Hope, Alaska. It has been introduced into other waters around the world including the Great Lakes, Atlantic and Gulf states of the U.S., some areas of Central and South America, Europe, and the South Pacific. These transplanted populations apparently failed due to an inability to maintain spawning levels, with the exceptions of South Island in New Zealand, and to some degree in the Great Lakes. In Chile, more recent transplants have shown hope of becoming established with some chinook returning to spawn.
At sea, the king salmon is basically a silvery fish with spotting on the back, upper sides, top of head, and all the fins, including the tail fin. Spawning chinooks are olive brown to purplish or even red and undergo a radical metamorphosis, especially the males which develop a large kype. One way to distinguish the chinook from other species is by its black mouth and gums. The similar looking coho, has a black mouth, but white gums, except in the Great Lakes population where the gums may be gray or black.
