Species Act. Photo Credit: Ingrid TaylarSPECIES AND FOOD WEB

• Main Authors: Chinook Salmon, All Regions Declining
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Pacific; Orca
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.365.8191; http://www.psp.wa.gov/downloads/SOS2012/sos2012_110812pdfs/SOS2012_VS08_110812.pdf

Chinook salmon are a cultural icon of the Pacific Northwest. Truly the “King ” of Pacific salmon, Chinook are the largest species. Adults can exceed 30 pounds, and reports of larger fish were once more common. Returning Chinook are highly prized by anglers and commercial fisherman and are a favorite food of Orca whales. Puget Sound Chinook return in the summer and fall to spawn, build gravel nests, and lay their eggs in rivers and streams. Their carcasses provide nutrients for freshwater invertebrates which in turn provide food for young fish. As they grow, juvenile Chinook move from freshwater to estuaries and nearshore areas to find food and cover to hide from predators. They eventually move to more exposed shorelines where they depend on eelgrass and kelp beds as they continue their migration to the ocean. Puget Sound Chinook are about one-third as abundant as they were in the early 1900s and were listed in 1999 as “threatened ” under the federal Endangered