Coho Salmon
(Oncorhynchus kisutch)
Coho or silver salmon are introduced to the Great Lakes and populations are maintained by stocking young fish.
Description
Coho salmon are a large silver fish with black spots on their back and only the upper half of their tail. Like all members of the Salmonidae family they have an adipose fin. Coho salmon do not have black gums and spawning fish in the Great Lakes turn a rusty red color on their sides. Mature males develop a hooked upper jaw called a kype.
Habitat and Habits
In their natural range on the west coast of North America salmon are anadromous (spawn in freshwater and live adult lives in the Ocean). In the Great Lakes coho salmon populations are maintained by stocking young fish. They spend most of their lives in the deep water of the lakes and then try to spawn in tributary rivers. No salmon are stocked any longer in Lake Erie. Occasional fish are caught which are strays from one of the upper Great Lakes.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
Coho salmon travel long distances up rivers from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in their natural range. After spawning they die. In the Great Lakes introduced populations are maintained by stocking young fish.