Pink salmon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pink salmon |
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| Male ocean phase pink salmon | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Oncorhynchus
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| Species: |
gorbuscha
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Pink salmon or humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) is a type of fish that lives in both fresh and salt water. It belongs to the Salmonidae family, which includes all salmon. This fish is the smallest and most common of the seven types of Pacific salmon. Its scientific name, gorbuscha, comes from the Russian word gorbúša, which means "humpie." This nickname refers to the large hump males develop when they return to rivers to lay eggs.
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What Pink Salmon Look Like
When pink salmon live in the ocean, they are bright silver. But when they swim back to their home streams to lay eggs, their colors change. Their backs become pale grey, and their bellies turn yellowish-white. Some even become a dull green color.
Like all salmon, they have a special fin called an adipose fin behind their dorsal fin. You can tell a pink salmon by its white mouth with black gums and no teeth on its tongue. They also have large, oval black spots on their backs and a V-shaped tail.
Male pink salmon grow a noticeable hump on their backs during their journey to lay eggs. This is why they are often called "humpies." On average, pink salmon weigh about 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg). The biggest one ever recorded was 30 inches (76 cm) long and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kg).
Where Pink Salmon Live
Pink salmon naturally live in the Pacific and Arctic coastal waters and rivers. You can find them from northern California in the USA, all the way up to the Mackenzie River in Canada. In Asia, they live from the Lena River in Siberia to Korea and Japan.
In North America, pink salmon usually lay their eggs in rivers from the Arctic down to Puget Sound in Washington. They have also been seen as far south as the Salinas River in California.
Pink Salmon in the Great Lakes
Pink salmon were brought to the Great Lakes in North America by accident. In 1956, about 100 salmon escaped into Lake Superior. Later, about 21,000 young salmon were also released into a river that flows into the lake. By 1959, these fish were reproducing on their own.
The pink salmon in the Great Lakes have adapted to live their whole lives in fresh water. They spend their adult lives in the open lake and then swim into rivers to lay eggs. By 1979, these salmon had spread throughout all the Great Lakes.
Pink Salmon in Europe
Pink salmon have also been introduced to rivers in Russia that flow into the White Sea and Barents Sea. From there, some fish have traveled to rivers in Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Great Britain, and Iceland. In Norway, some groups of pink salmon have even started living and reproducing on their own. In 2021, they were reported to have entered the Akerselva river in downtown Oslo, the capital of Norway.
Pink Salmon Life Cycle
Pink salmon are coldwater fish. They prefer water temperatures between 5.6 and 14.6 °C (42 to 58 °F).
Reproduction
Pink salmon have a very strict two-year life cycle. This means that salmon born in an odd-numbered year (like 2023) will only have babies in another odd-numbered year (like 2025). They do not mix with salmon born in even-numbered years. In Washington state, for example, pink salmon usually return to rivers in odd years.
Adult pink salmon swim from the ocean back to the streams where they were born. This journey to lay eggs happens between late June and mid-October. The female salmon uses her tail to dig a nest, called a redd, in the gravel at the bottom of the stream. She then lays her eggs in this nest.
As she lays the eggs, one or more male salmon come close to fertilize them. After the eggs are laid, the female covers them with gravel using her tail. A female can lay between 1,000 and 2,000 eggs in her nest, often fertilized by different males. Females stay and guard their nests until they die, which happens within days of laying eggs.
The eggs hatch between December and February, depending on how warm the water is. The young fish, called juveniles, come out of the gravel in March and April. They are very small, weighing about one-quarter of a gram. They quickly swim downstream to the ocean. Pink salmon become adults and are ready to have their own babies when they are two years old. They return to fresh water in the summer or autumn as two-year-old adults.
What Pink Salmon Eat
When pink salmon are young and live in fresh water, they eat small water bugs and tiny animals called zooplankton. Once they reach the ocean, they eat many different things, including plankton, small invertebrates (animals without backbones), and small fish. Adult pink salmon do not eat anything when they return to fresh water to lay their eggs.
Who Eats Pink Salmon
Many different animals eat pink salmon throughout their lives. When they are eggs or young fish in fresh water, small fish, birds, and mammals might eat them. In the ocean, larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals (like seals) are their predators.
Pink salmon eggs and the bodies of salmon that have laid their eggs provide important food for other animals in freshwater. For example, in Norway, native salmon eat pink salmon eggs. In Canada, more pink salmon eggs can help other fish species by giving them more food. Bears also eat adult salmon. They often choose salmon that have not yet laid eggs because these fish are more nutritious. When bears catch salmon, they sometimes carry them away from the water into forests. This helps to spread nutrients from the salmon bodies to plants and trees. The bodies of salmon that successfully lay their eggs break down quickly and become food for water insects. This extra food can help other types of salmon grow bigger in the streams.
Pink Salmon and People
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Pink salmon are very important for fishing businesses in the northern Pacific Ocean. In 2010, about 260 million pink salmon were caught, weighing 400,000 tonnes. Most of these fish were caught in Russia and Alaska (USA). Pink salmon make up 69% of all salmon caught in Russia.
In North America, people used to catch pink salmon with special traps for canning and salting. This industry grew until the 1920s. However, in the 1940s and 1950s, the number of pink salmon dropped a lot. In 1959, fish traps were banned in Alaska. Today, most pink salmon are caught using large nets called purse seines, drift nets, or gillnets. Since the 1970s, the number of pink salmon and the amount caught have increased and are now at record high levels.
Many pink salmon are also produced in special fish hatcheries, especially in Alaska. Pink salmon are not usually raised in fish farms. The fish are often canned, smoked, or salted to preserve them. Their eggs are also harvested to make caviar, which is a valuable food, especially in Asia.
See also
In Spanish: Salmón rosado para niños
