Chinook SalmonBy: Scott Rakes

February 18, 2010Endangered Species

HabitatThe Chinook is on the endangered species

list.Two habitats are the cedar river and the

samammish river.Watershed-wide priorities include protecting

forests, reducing impervious surfaces, managing storm water flows, protecting and improving water quality, conserving water and protecting and restoring vegetation along stream banks.

Local governments are trying there hardest to protect this species from becoming and more harmed.

Life HistoryChinook salmon or common name

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are also called king, spring, or type salmon, and are the largest of the Pacific salmon.

  Chinook salmon are highly prized by commercial, sport, and subsistence fishers.  Like all Pacific salmon, Chinook are anatropous, which means they hatch in freshwater streams and rivers, migrate to the ocean for feeding and growth, and return to their natal waters to spawn.  Within this life history, Chinook can be very diverse. 

Characteristics Olive brown to dark brown in color, almost black on back and sides Many spots on its back Few spots on fins BOTH upper and lower part of tail fin has spots Lower gum line is black Range in length from 24 inches (2 feet) to 60 inches (5 feet). Spawn: September through mid-December and can weigh up to 30 pounds. Chinook salmon is highly valued by commercial fishermen, despite their

scarcity relative to other Pacific salmon along most of the Pacific coast. Chinook salmon is also an important subsistence fish and a valuable recreational resource.

Spend a lot of time moving up and down fresh water streams. While living in the parent stream, young Chinooks consume a variety of

terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water) insects and side swimmers. After moving to Lake Superior, they begin to consume a variety of fish.   

   

Why this Animal is EndangeredIn the 1940s, about 70,000 fall Chinook

spawned in the Snake River. Then in the 1960s and 1970s, a series of dams were constructed, blocking access to and from spawning habitat. Since the mid-'70s, about 500 fall Chinook have returned to the Snake River. Overharvest in commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries, as well as hatchery-produced fish, disease, and other man-made factors such as water diversion, may contribute to the decline of this stock

What is Being Done to Help This?In 2005, the Committee on the Status of

Endangered Wildlife conducted an emergency assessment on the this population of Chinook salmon, and concluded that, “The Okanagan Chook salmon is facing an imminent threat to its survival, such that an Emergency Listing of the Species as Endangered is warranted,” although subsequently the designation was reduced in November 2006 to threatened because of some encouraging rescue signs. They receive protection under the fisheries act which prohibits the destruction of their critical habitat.

What Can We Do?Chinook salmon will get the protection they

need only if all Canadians work together to reduce threats. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that we do everything possible to protect and recover all species that are at risk. So far there plan is working and they continue to keep up the good work.

Population SizesThe program released an average 1.5 million juvenile Chinook between 1996-2003. The last significant egg take from captive brood stock Chinook was in 2003. Approximately 50,000 eggs. In-river spawning escapements for 2000-2005 have increased each year from 218 to 955 adults.