Chum salmon 1008255 222415000 2008-06-29T06:15:26Z Thijs!bot 1392310 robot Adding: [[eo:Ketao]] {{Taxobox | name = Chum salmon | image = Chum salmon.jpg | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordata]] | classis = [[Actinopterygii]] | ordo = [[Salmoniformes]] | familia = [[Salmonidae]] | genus = ''[[Oncorhynchus]]'' | species = '''''O. keta''''' | binomial = ''Oncorhynchus keta'' | binomial_authority = ([[Johann Julius Walbaum|Walbaum]], [[1792]]) }} :''Keta redirects here. Keta can also refer to a character from the [[Myst (series)|Myst franchise]]. The '''chum salmon''', ''Oncorhynchus keta'', is a [[species]] of [[anadromous]] [[fish]] in the [[salmon]] [[family (biology)|family]]. It is a [[Pacific]] [[salmon]], may also be known as '''dog salmon''' or '''Keta salmon''', and is often marketed under the name '''Silverbrite salmon'''. The name Chum Salmon comes from the [[Chinook Jargon]] term ''tzum'', meaning "spotted" or "marked". ==Appearance== They have an ocean coloration of silvery blue green. When adults are near spawning, they have purple blotchy streaks near the caudal fin. Unlike other salmon, Chum have no spots. Spawning males typically grow an elongated snout or kype and have enlarged teeth. Some researchers speculate these characteristics are used to compete for mates. ==Spawning== Most Chum Salmon [[Spawning|spawn]] in small [[streams]] and [[intertidal zones]], especially among stalks of [[eelgrass]]. Some Chum travel more than 3,200 km (2,000 miles) up the [[Yukon River]]. Chum ''fry'' migrate out to sea from March through July, almost immediately after becoming ''free swimmers''. They spend one to three years traveling long distances in the ocean. These are the last salmon to spawn (November to January). They die about two weeks after they return to the freshwater to spawn. They utilize the lower tributaries of the watershed, tend to build ''redd''s in shallow edges of the watercourse and at the tail end of deep pools. The female lays eggs in the redd, the male sprays sperm on the eggs, and the female covers the eggs with gravel. The female can lay up to 4000 eggs. [[Image:Salmon (breeding color).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Chum Salmon of a breeding season.]] ==Age== Chum can live from 3 to 7 years, and chum in Alaska mature at the age of 4 years. ==Distribution== The chum salmon is found in the north [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], in the waters of [[Korea]], [[Japan]], and the [[Okhotsk Sea|Okhotsk]] and [[Bering Sea|Bering]] seas ([[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]], [[Chukotka]], [[Kuril Islands]], [[Sakhalin]], [[Khabarovsk Krai]], [[Primorsky Krai]]), [[British Columbia]] in [[Canada]], and from [[Alaska]] to [[Oregon]] in the [[United States]]. ==Sizes== Adult chum usually weigh from 4.4 to 6.6 kg, with an average length of 60 cm. The record for chum is 16 kg and 102 cm and was caught at Edie Pass in British Columbia. ==Diet== Juvenile chum eat [[zooplankton]] and [[insects]]. ==Commercial use and value== The chum salmon is the least commercially valuable salmon. Despite being extremely plentiful in Alaska, commercial [[fisherman|fishers]] often choose not to fish for them because of their low market value. Markets developed for chum from 1984 to 1994 in Japan and northern [[Europe]] which increased demand, though. They are a traditional source of dried salmon. [[Image:Salmon newborn.jpg|thumb|200px|Artificially-incubated chum salmon]] ==Conservation== In areas other than Alaska there are few groups of healthy chum remaining. This is partially because of [[dams]], which block the free flow of the water and the migration of the fish. Two populations of Chum have been listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as threatened species. These are the Hood Canal Summer Run population and the Lower Columbia River Population. ==Susceptibility to diseases== Chum are thought to be fairly resistant to [[whirling disease]], but it is unclear. ==See also== *[[Salmon]] *[[Coho salmon]] *[[Pink salmon]] *[[Sockeye salmon]] *[[Trout]] *[[Chinook salmon]] ==References== *{{ITIS|ID=161976|taxon=Oncorhynchus keta|year=2006|date=24 January}} *{{FishBase_species|genus=Oncorhynchus|species=keta|year=2005|month=10}} *[[Encarta Encyclopedia]] 2004 *[http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/chum.php Alaska Department of Fish and Game] *[http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/ESA-Salmon-Listings/Salmon-Populations/Chum/Index.cfm National Marine Fisheries Service ESA Listings] [[Category:Arctic freshwater fish]] [[Category:Salmon]] [[Category:Cold water fish]] [[Category:Fish of the Pacific]] [[Category:Fish of Japan]] [[Category:Oncorhynchus]] [[de:Ketalachs]] [[eo:Ketao]] [[fr:Oncorhynchus keta]] [[it:Oncorhynchus keta]] [[nl:Chumzalm]] [[ja:サケ]] [[pl:Keta (ryba)]] [[ru:Кета (рыба)]] [[zh:大麻哈鱼]]