Name
- Common name: Sockeye Salmon
- Scientific name: Oncorhynchus nerka
- Order: Salmoniformes
- Subfamily: Salmoninae
- Indigenous names for this species may be available through the Yukon Native Language Centre.
Viewing opportunities
- You will need to visit the Tatshenhini-Alsek waters to see these fish when they spawn from late summer to early autumn.
Description
- Small eyes and small, weak teeth.
- Bright silver blueish colour and have a trout-like body shape.
- At spawning time they have a dark to brilliant red body, with olive green head; males develop a kype, or hooked jaw, a hump behind the head and more prominent teeth.
Fast facts
- Length: 45 to 72 cm
- Weight: 1.5 to 3 kg
- Habitat: Anadromous
Conservation status
- Yukon: S2S3 (Imperilled/Vulnerable)
- Global: G5 (Secure)
Yukon population estimate
Not determined.
Behaviour
Sockeye young live in lakes for 1 to 3 years between migrating out to sea or they will migrate quickly from rivers that are not associated with lakes. They spawn in the late summer and early autumn in lake-associated rivers and streams. Sockeye are the anadromous form of Kokanee Salmon.
Diet
Aquatic insects and crustaceans; spawning adults do not feed.
Distribution
Sockeye and people
- Sockeye Salmon have been an important food source for peoples along the Pacific coast for thousands of years.