Do You Know: Chum Salmon?

Quick Facts:

• Scientific name: Oncorhynchus keta.
• Chum salmon are found throughout the Pacific Rim, from Oregon to Alaska and as far afield as Japan and Korea.  
• Chum are the poorest jumpers of the Pacific salmon world and waterfalls that do not impede any of the other species can often stop their upstream migration.
• This is a preferred fish for cold-smoking, owing to the low oil content of the flesh.

Commonly referred to as dog salmon due to the appearance of mature males, chum is the least sought-after of the Pacific salmon species, though has long provided a food staple for coastal peoples due to its abundance in the region.

In BC and the Yukon, chum spawn in more than 880 medium-sized streams and rivers. In short coastal streams, chum emerge from gravel spawning beds in the spring as fry and move directly to the sea. This migration is accomplished in a day or two. In larger river systems, the young remain in fresh water for periods of up to several months before reaching the ocean. Most chum spend two or three summers at sea before returning to their home streams to spawn. In May or June of their final year at sea, maturing chum are found throughout the eastern and western Pacific, north of the California border.

An attractive fish, in tidal waters chum are metallic blue and silver, with occasional black speckling on the back.  Spawning chum are readily recognized by the dark horizontal stripe running down their sides, the canine-like teeth of the large males and the checkerboard or calico colouration. Chum salmon are the most widely distributed of the Pacific salmon.

For further identifying information about chum salmon, please see our Recreational Fishing Salmon Identification pages.
 
Material for this page taken from Underwater World: Pacific Salmon and The Incredible Salmonids (out-of-print), and additionally supplied by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Branch of DFO.