Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Pacific Northwest) Pink Salmon

• Main Authors: Bonar, Scott A., Pauley, Gilbert B., Thomas, G. L.
• Other Authors: WASHINGTON UNIV SEATTLE SCHOOL OF FISHERIES
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: Biology; Biological Oceanography; *FISHES; PUGET SOUND; OPTIMIZATION; COASTAL REGIONS; COMMERCE; ENVIRONMENTS; LITERATURE SURVEYS; WATER; MORPHOLOGY; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS; PROFILES; LIMITATIONS; SCALE; HISTORY; SALINITY; LIFE(BIOLOGY); FISHERIES; FEEDING; SEDIMENTS; RECREATION; GENETICS; ADULTS; TAXONOMY; NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN; NORTHEAST ASIA; STREAMS; GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION; NORTH AMERICA; HABITS; OXYGEN CONSUMPTION; GROWTH(PHYSIOLOGY); ESTUARIES; ARCTIC OCEAN; ANIMAL MIGRATION; REQUIREMENTS; TEMPERATURE; SALMON; PINK SALMON; ONCORHYNCHUS GORBUSCHA; SPAWNING; PREDATORS; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Pacific; humpback salmon; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Pink salmon
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA206185; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA206185

Species profiles are literature summaries of the taxonomy, morphology, range, life history, and environmental requirements of coastal aquatic species. They are designed to assist in environmental impact assessment. The pink salmon, often called humpback salmon or humpy, is easily identified by its extremely small scales (150 to 205) on the lateral line. They are the most abundant of the Pacific salmon species and spawn in North American and Asian streams bordering the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. They have a very simple two- year life cycle, which is so invariable that fish running in odd-numbered years are isolated from fish running in even-numbered years so that no gene flow occurs between them. Adults spawn in the fall and the young fry emerge in the spring. The pink salmon is less desirable in commercial and sport pale flesh. The Puget Sound region of Washington State is the southern geographic limit of streams supporting major pink salmon runs in the eastern North Pacific. Pink salmon runs are presently only in odd-numbered years in this region. Optimum water temperatures for spawning range from 7.2 to 12.8 deg C. Productive pink salmon streams have less than 5.0% by volume of fine sediments (< or = 0.8 mm). Keywords: Estuaries; Fisheries; Salmon; Sediments; Suspended sediments; Feeding habits; Life cycle; Growth physiology; Oxygen consumption; Animal migrations; Pink salmon; Humpback salmon; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Spawning; Temperature requirements; Salinity requirements; Predators.