Species profiles: Life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Pacific Northwest): Chum salmon. [Oncorhynchus keta]

Chum salmon are anadromous fish found throughout a large part of the North Pacific Ocean and are the most widely distributed of all the Pacific salmon. Adults return to spawn in late summer and fall. Young fish migrate downstream quickly and rear in estuaries. Chum salmon mature later in life in more northerly water: in Alaska and British Columbia at age 4 to 5, in Washington and Oregon at age 3 to age 4. Fish from larger river systems grow to the largest size. The major commercial fishery is centered in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Harvest has increased in Washington to 1,150,000 fish annually due to increased hatchery production, with Hood Canal rivers accounting for 25% of all Washington fish. In odd-numbered years, the adult return-to-escapement ratio in any given river system is positively statistically correlated with increased spawning escapement of chum salmon relative to that of pink salmon.