Sockeye
Sockeye at the spawning stage.
Photo: Danny Kent
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus nerka
Names: Sockeye Salmon, Reds, Bluebacks
Size: About 7 kg
Range: Columbia River to Kuril Islands
Time in Freshwater: 1-2 yrs; a few go directly
to sea
Time of Runs: Summer to fall
Age of Spawners: 3-5 yrs
Prey as Adult: Euphasiids
Prey as Juvenile: Small crustacean
No. of Eggs: 3,000-4,000
Distinct Features: Very small speckles (like chum)
Notes: The most famous race of Canadian sockeye
returns in four-year cycles to the Adams River, a tributary of the
Fraser River system. During this reproductive frenzy as many as
1.5 million spawners compete for space in the river's seven-mile
length. Kokanee salmon, a landlocked variant of sockeye, live in
the lakes of the Kootenays, a region of southeast British Columbia.
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