The Life Story of Our King

Pacific King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), sometimes known as Chinook, are adapted to life in both fresh and salt water. They are a type of fish described as anadromous, meaning that they run up rivers from the sea to breed.

In the wild eggs hatch in the late winter or spring and the young salmon, termed alevin, remain hidden in their gravel nests for a few weeks, living off the yolk sac which is still attached to them. When this source of food is used up, they emerge from the gravel and over the summer the young fry can be found in streams and rivers. After three or four months they start their journey downstream to the sea. By this stage in their development they are known as smolt. The salmon spend the next few years at sea, growing to maturity and finally returning to their original rivers to spawn. In late summer and autumn they make their way up to the headwaters. Where the water is shallow and swift-flowing, the female wriggles her body in the gravel to create a hollow, and in these hollows she lays between 3000 and 7000 eggs, which are then fertilised by the male. During their journey from the sea, the adult fish are no longer feeding and their condition deteriorates. Spawning is their final act before they die.