Sockeye salmon
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2008-07-03T02:44:59Z
GlassCobra
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/D McT|D McT]] ([[User talk:D McT|talk]]) to last version by 98.243.135.54
{{otheruses2|Sockeye}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Sockeye salmon
| image = Oncorhynchus nerka.jpg
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Actinopterygii]]
| ordo = [[Salmoniformes]]
| familia = [[Salmonidae]]
| genus = ''[[Oncorhynchus]]''
| species = '''''O. nerka
'''''
| binomial = ''Oncorhynchus nerka''
| binomial_authority = ([[Johann Julius Walbaum|Walbaum]], [[1792]])
}}
'''Sockeye salmon''' (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called '''red salmon''' or '''blueback salmon''', is an [[anadromous]] [[species]] of [[salmon]] found in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The same species when it occurs in landlocked bodies of water is called the '''Kokanee'''. It is the third most common species of Pacific salmon, after [[Pink salmon|Pink]] and [[Chum salmon]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Sockeye Salmon | publisher = NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources | url = http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/sockeye.htm | accessdate = 2006-11-19}}</ref> The name "sockeye" is thought to have been a corruption of the various indigenous tribes' word "sukkai."
==Range==
Its current range is as far south as the [[Columbia River]] in the eastern Pacific (though individuals have been spotted as far south as the 10 Mile River on the Mendocino Coast of California) and northern [[Hokkaidō|Hokkaidō Island]] in [[Japan]] in the western Pacific, and as far north as [[Bathurst Inlet]] in the [[Canadian Arctic]] in the east and the [[Anadyr River]] in [[Siberia]] in the west.<ref name ="ADFG">{{cite web | title = Sockeye Salmon | publisher = Alaska Department of Fish and Game | url = http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/sockeye.php | accessdate = 2006-11-17 }}</ref> Landlocked populations occur in the [[Yukon]] Territory and [[British Columbia]] in [[Canada]], and in [[Alaska]], [[Washington]], [[Oregon]], [[California]], [[Utah]], [[Idaho]], [[Montana]], [[Colorado]],[[New Mexico]], and [[Wyoming]] in the [[United States]].
==Physical description==
[[Image:Oncorhynchus nerka 2.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Male and female sockeye salmon.]]
A Sockeye can be as long as 33 inches (84 cm) and weigh 6 to 8 pounds (2.5 to 3.5 kilos). It has an elongated, torpedo shaped body, with an adipose fin, and a bluntly pointed snout. The gill rakers located just behind the head are long and closely spaced. Its colouration changes as it migrates from saltwater to freshwater in preparation for spawning. In freshwater, its colour is bright red with a pale green head; females may have green and yellow marks or stains. Its colour in saltwater is bluish-green on top, silvery on the bottom, with uniform, shiny skin.
==Reproduction==
[[Image:June 2006 008.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Sockeye salmon caught on an Alaskan stream]]
Prior to spawning the sockeye are blue tinged with silver in color during their ocean life. The males develop a hump on their back and their jaw and teeth become hooked when they move from salt to fresh water. Males and females both turn red with green heads, and a dark stripe on their sides prior to spawning.
Sockeye salmon spawn mostly in streams having [[lake]]s in their watershed. The young fish, known as fry, spend from zero to three years in the freshwater lake before migrating to the ocean, some stay in the lake and do not migrate to the sea. The fish that migrate spend from one to four years in the salt water, and thus are four to six years old when they return to spawn in [[autumn]] (September-December). Migration back to the home river is thought to be done using the characteristic smell of the stream, and possibly the sun.
Some young fish spend as long as four years in fresh water lakes before migrating to the sea. In rivers without lakes, many of the young move to the ocean quite soon after hatching. These salmon mature after one to four years in the ocean. Some Sockeye Salmon live and reproduce in lakes and are called "kokanee." They are much smaller than the ones that go to the ocean and are rarely over 350mm (14 inches) long. In the [[Okanagan Lake]] and possibly in other locations there are two populations of Kokanee. One spawns in streams and one spawns in the lake near the shore.
==Ecology/Behavior==
Sockeye Salmon, unlike the other species of Pacific Salmon, feed almost exclusively on [[plankton]].<ref name="ADFG" /> They are able to do this as a result of their many [[gill]] rakers, which strain the plankton from the water. It is speculated that this diet is the reason for the striking hue of their flesh, as well as their very low concentration of methyl mercury. They also tend to feed on small aquatic organisms such as shrimp.
Sockeye salmon are currently listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act with the [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] as an endangered species in [[Snake River]] (Idaho, Oregon and Washington area) and as a threatened species in [[Lake Ozette]], Washington. Other sockeye populations in the upper Columbia River and in Puget Sound (Washington) are not listed under the Endangered Species Act.
==Commerce==
This species is netted commercially using seines and gillnets for fresh or frozen fillet sales and [[canning]], especially in [[Bristol Bay]], [[Alaska]], site of the largest harvest of sockeye salmon in the world, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The species has been preferred for canning due to the rich orange-red color of the flesh. More than half of the sockeye salmon caught today are sold frozen.
Sockeye also tends to fetch a higher price than other salmon when sold fresh, as they are considered the most flavorful and flexible of the family.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
When smoked, Sockeye has a stronger flavour and firmer texture than [[Coho salmon]]. Sockeye salmon is a popular sportfish for flyfishermen. It can be caught on a [[fly fishing|fly-rod]] when it returns to freshwater to spawn and is an acrobatic and powerful fighter.
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
* {{ITIS|ID=161979|taxon=Oncorhynchus nerka|year=2006|date=30 January}}
</div>
==Technical Reports==
* [http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2007/04/ocn131239078.pdf Bristol Bay sockeye salmon inriver test fishing, 2004] / by Frederick W. West. Hosted by the [http://library.state.ak.us/asp Alaska State Publications Program].
* [http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2007/04/ocn131397855.pdf Hetta and Eek Lakes subsistence sockeye salmon project : 2004 annual report / by Jan M. Conitz ... [et al.]. ] Hosted by [http://library.state.ak.us/asp Alaska State Publications Program].
==External links==
{{commonscat|Oncorhynchus nerka}}
* [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Oncorhynchus&speciesname=nerka FishBase entry for ''Oncorhynchus nerka'']
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Oncorhynchus_nerka.html Animal Diversity Web entry for ''Oncorhynchus nerka'']
* [http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=E06Y Species Profile]
* [http://www.guidekenairiver.com/Alaska_red_salmon_facts.html Kenai River], Alaska Red Salmon Fact Page
[[Category:Cold water fish]]
[[Category:Salmon]]
[[Category:Oncorhynchus]]
[[Category:Introduced freshwater fish of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Fish of the Pacific]]
[[Category:Fish of North America]]
[[Category:Fish of Japan]]
[[Category:Fly fishing target species]]
[[de:Rotlachs]]
[[fi:Punalohi]]
[[fr:Oncorhynchus nerka]]
[[it:Oncorhynchus nerka]]
[[nl:Rode zalm]]
[[ja:ベニザケ]]
[[pl:Nerka (ryba)]]
[[ru:Нерка]]