Chinook Salmon

The Chinook salmon is blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white ventral surfaces. It has black spots on its tail and the upper half of its body; its mouth is dark gray. Adult fish range in size from 33 to 36 inches but may be up to 58 inches in length; they average 10 to 50 pounds but may reach 130 pounds .

The typical lifespan of an Alaskan Chinook salmon is 4-5 years, although some Chinooks return to the fresh water one or two years earlier than their counterparts, and are referred to as "Jack" salmon. "Jack" salmon can be half the size of an adult Chinook salmon, and are usually thrown back by sportsmen but kept by commercial fishermen.

Chinook salmon range from California to Alaska, and the arctic waters of Canada and Russia including the entire Pacific coast in between. Some populations of chinook salmon are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered.

Chinook feed on insects and other crustaceans while young, and primarily on other fish when older. Young salmon feed in streambeds for a short period of time until they are strong enough to journey out into the ocean and acquire more food. Once they spend a couple of years in the ocean, adult salmon grow large enough to escape most predators and return to their original streambeds to mate. Chinook salmon can have an extended life history with some fish spending from one to five years in the ocean for up to a total age of eight years.

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