Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

• Chinook salmon stocks originate in rivers from central California to northwest Alaska. The status of Chinook populations in the Pacific Northwest varies, with some populations being healthy and robust while others are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Chinook salmon stocks in Alaska are generally healthy, and none are listed under the ESA.
• Commercial fisheries are directed at healthy stocks of Chinook salmon.
• Chinook salmon is low in sodium and is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids and a very good source of protein, niacin, vitamin B12, and selenium. For more information, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)
• Chinook salmon is provided by both commercial fisheries and by aquaculture in the U.S.

Sustainability Status

Biomass: Unavailable*
Overfishing: No**
Overfished: No**
Fishing and habitat: Chinook salmon are an important species for commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing. Recreational anglers target Chinook salmon in both marine and freshwaters. Chinook salmon are a target species of commercial troll fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. They are also harvested in commercial seine and gillnet fisheries, both as incidental bycatch in fisheries directed at other species of salmon and in directed fisheries on healthy stocks. Chinook salmon are taken by a variety of gear for subsistence and personal use. Fishing gear for salmon has little or no direct impact on fish habitat; however, lost net gear can pose an entanglement risk to marine animals.
Bycatch: Primary bycatch is other salmon species. Management measures seek to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality to the greatest extent practical.
Aquaculture: (Enhancement) There is currently no commercial aquaculture production of Chinook salmon in the U.S. However, there have been, and continue to be, significant enhancement efforts for Chinook salmon. An extensive network of hatcheries has been constructed in the Pacific Northwest and California in attempts to mitigate the effects of hydroelectric or other developments on the availability of quality salmon habitat, and/or assist with the rebuilding of depressed stocks. Supplementation programs (assisting the wild spawning of salmon) are also in use in the Pacific Northwest. Alaska has developed Chinook hatchery production in some areas to provide additional harvest opportunities.

*Unlike most groundfish stocks, biomass metrics are not used to describe the status of salmon stocks. Instead, stock status is usually described using measures of spawning escapement, productivity, and recruitment. However, annual estimates of abundance of year classes that will contribute to fisheries are used for management purposes.
**Applies to Alaska, Klamath River Fall, Sacramento River Fall, Southern Oregon, Central and Northern Oregon, and Washington Coastal Chinook. The status of the remaining Pacific coast stocks is either unknown or not applicable. Overfishing criteria, and subsequent Council actions, do not apply to the following Pacific coast salmon stocks or stock complexes, as stated in the Salmon Fishery Management Plan: 1) hatchery stocks, 2) stocks for which Council management actions have inconsequential impacts, and 3) stocks listed under the ESA.

Science and Management

Commercial and recreational salmon fisheries off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California are managed through the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Pacific Coast Chinook stocks are grouped into 6 major geographic categories which are further divided into component stocks (both hatchery and wild). The general goal of the Pacific Coast Salmon FMP is to achieve optimum yield, prevent overfishing, and ensure rebuilding of salmon stocks if their abundance has been depressed to an overfished level. There are two central parts of the plan: an annual goal for the number of spawners of the major salmon stocks ("spawner escapement goals") and allocation of the harvest among different groups of fishermen (commercial, recreational, tribal, various ports, ocean, and inland). The FMP is structured as a framework that allows the PFMC to develop measures responsive to conditions in a given year. Management tools, including size limits, season length, quotas, gear restrictions, and bag limits for recreational fishermen, vary depending on how many salmon are present. Management of Chinook salmon must also comply with laws such as the Endangered Species Act.

Salmon fisheries off the coast of Alaska are managed through the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the Coast of Alaska, approved in 1990. The Alaska Salmon FMP was developed to prohibit fishing for salmon in the EEZ, except by a limited number of vessels using troll gear. This FMP also divided federal waters off Alaska into two areas (East and West) and established management values such as Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and Optimum Yield (OY). The original FMP of 1979, amended in 1980 and 1981, established the NPFMC's authority over salmon fisheries in the Alaska EEZ; management measures were equivalent to state regulations for the salmon fisheries in adjacent state waters. All management of the salmon fisheries in marine waters off Alaska is currently delegated to the State of Alaska in order to provide continuity in the management of salmon that utilize both state and federal waters. The revised plan retains the original ban on salmon fishing with nets in the majority of the EEZ and on commercial salmon fishing in the West Area; allows commercial hand-troll and power-troll fishing in the East Area; and allows sport fishing in both.

In 1985, the U.S. and Canada signed the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) to foster long-term benefits for salmon and to establish processes for the two countries to cooperate in the management, research, and enhancement of Pacific salmon stocks of mutual concern. Salmon originating in the lakes and streams in one area or one country often spend a significant part of their lifecycle feeding, growing, and contributing to fisheries in the waters of other jurisdictions. These shared interests and responsibilities for salmon were recognized in the PST, and the Pacific Salmon Commission was formed to implement the treaty and provide regulatory advice and recommendations to U.S. and Canadian management agencies that regulate salmon fisheries. In 1999, an amended agreement under the treaty implemented abundance-based management (rather than based on negotiated catch ceilings), included habitat provisions, created the Transboundary Panel and the Committee on Scientific Cooperation, and established the Northern and Southern Restoration and Enhancement funds.

Stock abundance of Chinook salmon in many areas of the Pacific Northwest and California has been negatively affected by degradation of the upland habitat where salmon spawn and rear. Human effects on salmon habitat come from urbanization, hydropower development, agriculture, and other developments that impact water quantity or quality and the physical characteristics of watersheds.

In April 2007, NOAA Northwest Fishery Science Center and University of Washington scientists published a study showing how global warming could result in a 20 to 40 percent decline in Chinook salmon populations by 2050 in the Snohomish River Basin. Also, they found that habitat deterioration associated with climate change is likely to make salmon recovery more difficult in the Pacific Northwest, especially in relatively pristine, higher elevation river basins.

Life History and Habitat

Life history, including information on the habitat, growth, feeding, and reproduction of a species, is important because it affects how a fishery is managed. Salmon production is related to salmon habitat quality and quantity which, in turn, affect allowable harvest in the commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. Harvest management and habitat management are very closely related.

• Geographic range: Chinook salmon spawn and rear in freshwaters ranging from the Ventura River in California to Kotzebue Sound in Alaska. In Asia, Chinook spawn and rear in freshwaters ranging from northern Japan to the Andyr River in Russia. Chinook migrate from freshwater habitats to the ocean to further rear and mature. Chinook salmon stocks of Washington, Oregon and California origins range widely throughout the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Individuals from some of these stocks have been captured in the Bering Sea, while others have been encountered as far south as the U.S. border with Mexico.
• Habitat: Freshwater streams, estuaries, and associated wetlands provide vital nursery grounds for Chinook salmon.
• Life span: Chinook salmon normally live 3 to 7 years.
• Food: Chinook salmon feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods, and other crustaceans while young. Older Chinook primarily feed on other fish, such as herring, sardine, anchovy, smelt, and groundfish, and krill, squid, and crab.
• Growth rate: Variable
• Maximum size: Chinook salmon reach as much as 58 inches in length and up to 129 pounds in weight, but generally Chinook mature at about 36 inches and 30 pounds.
• Reaches reproductive maturity: Chinook salmon mature and return to freshwater to spawn after reaching an age of 2 to 7 years.
• Reproduction: Chinook salmon are anadromous, living in the ocean but returning to freshwater to spawn, and are semelparous (spawn once then die). Chinook lay eggs in nests (called redds) in stream bottoms with suitable gravel for redd excavation. After an incubation period, eggs hatch into yolk sac larvae, which remain in the gravel until the sac is absorbed. Smolt eventually migrate downstream, sometimes pausing in lakes or estuaries before entering the ocean. Adults spend 1 to 5 years in the ocean before returning to their natal streams to spawn. Several stocks may return to freshwater during a given season (a seasonal run).
• Spawning season: Most Chinook salmon spawn in summer or early fall, but some populations spawn as early as May and some as late as January.
• Spawning grounds: Chinook salmon spawning sites range from just above tidewater to over 2,000 miles from the ocean.
• Migrations: Adults leave the ocean, enter fresh water, and migrate upstream to spawn, often in the stream of their birth. Juveniles migrate up- and downstream within streams and estuaries in response to changes in water condition. Smolts swim and drift through streams and rivers to reach the estuary or ocean. Salmon from the Pacific Northwest often migrate far north in the ocean to waters adjacent to Canada and Alaska to feed and grow.
• Predators: Predators of juveniles include fish, such as whiting and mackerel, and birds; predators of adults include marine mammals and birds; salmon also serve as primary prey for southern resident killer whales, an endangered species.
• Commercial or recreational interest: Both
• Distinguishing characteristics: Chinook salmon are blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white bellies; black spots on the upper half of the body and both lobes of its tail with gray/black gum coloration. In freshwater, with the approach of breeding condition, Chinook change to olive brown, red, or purplish, particularly evident in males.

Role in the Ecosystem

Salmon carcasses, as well as their eggs, embryos, alevins, and fry, provide nutrient transport from the ocean to stream and lake ecosystems. Carcasses have been shown to enhance salmon growth and survival by contributing significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds to streams. Additionally, terrestrial animals and aquatic and riparian plants uptake nutrients from salmon carcasses.

Additional Information

Salmon are affected by a wide variety of factors in the ocean and on land, including ocean and climatic conditions, dams, habitat loss, urbanization, agricultural and logging practices, presence of wood in streams, water diversion, and predators (including humans). Wild Chinook salmon populations have disappeared from large areas where they once flourished, and several evolutionary significant units (ESUs) have been listed or proposed for listing as at risk for extinction under the Endangered Species Act. Two Chinook salmon stocks are listed as endangered, seven are listed as threatened, and one is listed as a species of concern.

Market names: Chinook, King, or Spring Salmon
Vernacular names: Tyee, Winter, Quinnat, King, or Spring Salmon

Biomass

Biomass refers to the amount of Chinook salmon in the ocean. Biomass estimates are not available for Chinook salmon. Unlike most groundfish stocks, biomass metrics are not used to describe the status of salmon stocks. Instead, stock status is usually described using measures of spawning escapement, productivity, and recruitment. Information related to the status of stocks can be found among the websites listed at the bottom of this page.

Landings

Landings refer to the amount of catch that is brought to land. Chinook salmon landings are most often reported in terms of numbers of individual fish. Numbers of fish caught are sometimes converted to estimates of weight, but this is primarily for the purpose of quantifying the economic value of the commercial catch. Salmon managers also generally provide estimates of non-landed catch mortality (when fish are caught and released due to regulatory restrictions such as size limits). Mortality may also occur when fish contact fishing gear, but are not landed, as when a fish is hooked but escapes before it is captured. Some proportion of the number of fish encountered is presumed to die as a result of these handling interactions. That proportion varies depending on gear type and location. Managers combine estimates of landed catch and non-landed catch to provide estimates of total harvest-related mortality.

Note: U.S. commercial landings are presented in the graph.

Biomass and Landings

Are landings and biomass related? Landings are dependent on biomass, management measures in the fishery, and fishing effort.

Data sources:
Landings from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Annual Commercial Landing Statistics using "SALMON, CHINOOK" as species and "ALL STATES"

Important Dates

1977 – Pacific Council's (PCFMC) first Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to govern salmon season
1978 – New PCFMC salmon FMP and EIS completely replace 1977 documents
1979 – North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) Alaska Salmon FMP implemented
1980s-1990s – Steep decline in real exvessel value of landings
1984 – PCFMC Salmon FMP comprehensively amended to implement the framework process for annual management
1985 – Pacific Salmon Treaty developed through cooperation by U.S. and Canadian federal governments, tribes, state governments, and sport and commercial fishing groups and implemented by the Pacific Salmon Commission
1985 – Pacific Salmon Treaty establishes a quota for the harvest of chinook by all fisheries in Southeast Alaska
1990 – Alaska Salmon FMP revised, deferring management to the State of Alaska
1996 – Chinook minimum size limits were increased in California to reduce impacts on Sacramento River winter Chinook
1997 – Amendment 12 (PCFMC) implements procedures governing retention of salmon bycatch in trawl nets and management objectives for ESA listed salmon species
1999 – An agreement under the Pacific Coast Salmon Treaty creates the Transboundary Panel and Committee on Scientific Cooperation, includes habitat provisions, implements abundance-based management (rather than fisheries based on negotiated catch ceilings), and establishes the Northern and Southern Restoration and Enhancement funds
2001 – Amendment 14 (PCFMC) updates EIS and defines new requirements of the Sustainable Fisheries Act including Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), optimum yield, overfishing, and bycatch; also clarifies stocks managed and management objectives
2007 – Recovery Plan released from Upper Columbia River Spring-run Chinook (a population listed as endangered under the ESA)

Notes and Links

General Information:
Pacific Coast Fishery Management Council Background on Salmon

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Chinook salmon information

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northwest Regional Office Salmon Endangered Species Act Recovery Plans in Progress

NMFS Northwest Regional Office Endangered Species Act Salmon Listings

NMFS Northwest Regional Office Salmon Fishery Management

NMFS Southwest Regional Office - Salmon and Steelhead information

In 2000, Congress established the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund to contribute to the restoration and conservation of salmon species. The fund is overseen by NMFS and carried out by state and tribal governments.

NMFS Office of Protected Resources works to conserve and recover species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), including Chinook salmon, in partnership with NMFS regional offices and science centers, environmental organizations, industry groups, other Federal and state agencies, and the academic community.

NMFS Office of Protected Resources Species of Concern

Fishery Management:
Pacific Fishery Management Council Pacific Coast Salmon Plan and Amendments

Pacific Salmon Commission and 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty

North Pacific Fishery Management Council Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ off the Coast of Alaska (1990)

Stock Assessments:
Pacific Fishery Management Council Review of 2006 Ocean Salmon Fisheries