Salmon of the Pacific Northwest

Alaska, the Puget Sound Chinook Salmonand the Columbia River are all closely associated with salmon spawning and fishing, not only in the modern era, but in terms of the cultures, values and livelihood of the original and native inhabitants. All Pacific Northwest salmon have several things in common; they spawn in the fresh water where their parents spawned them, and they spend part of their life at sea, and part in fresh (or brackish) water. Unlike Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon die once they have spawned. There are five basic types of Pacific Northwest Salmon in the coastal waters of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and California. These five are:

Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha have a noticeable greenish blue cast to the lightly spotted back, and are the largest of the Pacific Northwest Salmon, since they can weigh up to 120 lbs (and I've had professional salmon fishers swear they've seen larger). They live longer too, as much as seven years, though somewhere between five and seven is more common.

Chum Oncorhynchus keta can live for three to five years, and weigh as much as ten pounds. They're milder in flavor than Sockeye, and their flesh is a lighter pink to a medium red in color.

Coho Oncorhynchus kisutch are a lovely bright silver color and popular with sport fishing fans because they're lively. They have lean flesh, for a salmon, that's a striking red. During their short (three years or so) life span can rack up around 15 lbs.

Pink salmon, or Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, are the smallest of the Pacific varieties. One reason they're typically small (about 5 lbs.) is that they rarely live more than two years. They are also the most common, and consequently, the variety we usually buy when we buy canned salmon.

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are sometimes called "bluebacks," because of their silvery-blue backs, have the greatest range. Sockeye are caught all over the pacific, from Hokkaido, Japan, to the Columbia River in Oregon, and all the way up the coast to Bristol Bay in Alaska. These are the salmon most favored by chefs and the devout salmon fan. They tend to have the slimmest profile, and the firmest very deep red flesh. They can live four to five years, and weigh up to 7 lbs. If you see this species during spawning season, their coloration changes dramatically, to a marked dark red.

Salmon in the Northwest are often smoked, or, equally traditionally, planked salmon, that is salmon cooked on an alder or applewood plank, both methods Europeans learned from native Americans. If you're interested in learning how to shop for Pacific salmon, look here.