Critical Swimming Speed of Fraser and Thompson River Pink Salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha )

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Authors: Williams, I. V., Brett, J. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1987
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Fraser River; Thompson River; Seton Creek; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Pink salmon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f87-043; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f87-043

Critical swimming speeds were determined for male and female pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) captured from the Fraser and Thompson rivers and Seton Creek, British Columbia. The fish were categorized into two basic groups. Lower river fish were captured from the Fraser River at Fort Langley and Yale, and up-river fish were captured from the Thompson River at the Canyon and at Ashcroft and from Seton Creek near Lillooet, British Columbia. The critical swimming speeds of males and females in various stages of maturation were compared. In general, the up-river fish were stronger swimmers than the lower river fish. Gravid fish were stronger swimmers than spawning fish, which in turn were stronger swimmers than fish which were spawned out. Standardized critical swimming speeds ranged from a mean of 1.73 ± 0.35 (SE) body lengths/s for spawned females up to 3.39 ± 0.48 lengths/s for up-river gravid males.