Fish
Chum Salmon
Oncorhynchus keta · also called dog salmon, keta salmon
A male chum salmon nearing the end of a long journey home develops teeth striking enough to earn it a nickname better suited to a different animal entirely, its silvery ocean colouring already giving way to bold purple and green blotches marking the final stage of its life.
Overview
The chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, is a wide-ranging Pacific salmon species native to the North Pacific Ocean and connected river systems across North America and Asia. Its dramatic spawning-season transformation and status as a significant fishery species make it one of the more economically important Pacific salmon.
A fish transformed at the finish line
The calm, silvery chum salmon of the open ocean bears little resemblance to the blotched, sharp-toothed fish that finally reaches its spawning grounds, a transformation that marks the last and only reproductive chapter of its entire life.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and stable across much of the North Pacific and connected river systems, supporting significant commercial fisheries.
Chum Salmon: common questions
Why is the chum salmon also called the dog salmon?
A male chum salmon develops noticeably enlarged, canine-like teeth during the spawning season, a striking physical transformation that gives the species its common alternate name, dog salmon, a trait that becomes especially pronounced as the fish approaches its final spawning migration.
How far does the chum salmon travel during its life?
The chum salmon undertakes one of the widest-ranging ocean migrations among Pacific salmon species, travelling extensively across the North Pacific before eventually returning to the specific natal river where it hatched in order to spawn, a round trip covering considerable distance over the course of its life.
Why is chum salmon roe so valuable?
The chum salmon supports a significant commercial and subsistence fishery across parts of its range, and its roe in particular commands a high market price in some regions, making chum salmon an economically important species even beyond its value as a food fish in its own right.
Does the chum salmon survive after spawning?
No, like other Pacific salmon species, an adult chum salmon dies within a short period after spawning, having invested all of its remaining energy reserves into completing that single reproductive event at the very end of its life cycle.