Salmon Identification

Sockeye salmon are the most prized in the fishing industry for their firm, bright red meat. One of the most common questions I get on the dock from cannery workers themselves is how to tell a male from a female. I always point to their heads--males are easy to tell by their long noses.



There are five species of Pacific salmon. The two I sample are sockeye and chum, but there are also coho, pink, and king salmon. Here I've snapped a photo of a chum and coho. The bottom fish is a coho. If you look closely, you'll notice that the coho has much more silver on it's tail than the chum.
 
Another easy way to check to see what you have on the end of your line is by taking a look at the eye and the gum color:

Above is a chum salmon: Huge pupil (they always look a bit dumb), and white gums.

And here's a coho: Small eye and pupil, and black gums.

So this just touches the surface. I could probably blog the rest of my life about salmon, but I'll leave pink and king a mystery (really I just don't have photos) and move on. . .