SALMON FACTS

• Information on Chum Spawning
• Salmon evolved with the glaciers
• Each species seeks out different spawning and rearing habitats:

  a. Silvers - small tributaries
  b. Chum - lower stretches of river
  c. Pinks - lower stretches of river
  c. Sockeye - rivers with lakes
  e. Kings - fast or long high volume rivers
  f. All species - tend to time rivers so as not to co-opt other species.

• Salmon once ran in all rivers of Northern Europe from Iceland to Portugal (including British Isles and Scandinavia).
• Europeans were salmon dependent 25,000 years ago - salmon was the main food source.
• In the middle ages apprentice contracts had clauses stating the apprentice would only have to eat salmon once or twice a week so abundant were the salmon.
• European salmon are like our steelhead in that they can spawn more than once.
• All Pacific salmon, except steelhead (Korea to northern California) die after spawning.
• Native peoples from the Ainu people in Japan to the Klamath people on continent and most all indigenous people in between welcomed the first salmon ceremoniously.
• Many native peoples believed salmon were people who gave their salmon disguises as gifts to the land people in gratitude for their respectful treatment.
• Each species of salmon has a different "burst" speed and one culvert might be passable to Kings but not to Chums.
• Some salmon leap better than others. Chum don't like to jump.
• Chum fry don't hang around their natal streams very long.
• Silvers hang around for about one year.
• Some salmon stay in the gravel for 180 days depending upon oxygen content and water temperature.
• Some salmon run up to 1,000 miles inland.
• The Irish believed in a salmon of wisdom who when caught and eaten bestowed wisdom on the diner.

Back to Wild Olympic Salmon

North Olympic Salmon Coalition
P.O. Box 699
Port Townsend WA 98368
nosc@jefferson.wsu.edu
Telephone: 360-379-8051