Salmon

Pacific salmon have an elongated, compressed body, and their head comes to a point at their mouth, which contains well-developed teeth. When they feed at sea, their coloring is metallic blue with a few brown spots, and their flesh is pale pink and contains 9-11% fat. When spawning in freshwater their external coloring turns greenish yellow with pinkish red streaks on the sides.

Pacific salmon live off the coast of areas in the northern Pacific Ocean, from California to Japan to Russia. Some species extend to the southern Arctic Ocean. There are seven species of Pacific salmon, five of which are native to North American waters. The largest species is the king salmon, also called the chinook or quinnat salmon. One large king salmon was caught that weighed 125 lb (57 kg), but a more common maximum weight is around 55 lb (25 kg). Other species of Pacific salmon weigh 3-18 lb (1.5-8 kg).

Spawning activities are similar to those of the Atlantic salmon. The majority of species spawn in the winter, and the activity occurs over three to five days. The eggs are about 0.3 in (7 mm) in diameter. However, both males and females die soon after spawning.