Within all the species of salmon's, and particularly the Salmons of the Pacific, it emphasizes one of them, mainly by its size that has caused legend through time. Chinook is the great salmon, also known in some places like King Salmon
(Salmon King), and receiving the scientific name of Oncorhynchus tsawytscha.
This species and is considered like the greatest species of all these salmons, being surpassed in size by some species inhabitants of remote places in Asia. Although they have been exemplary of Chinook of
near 50 kgs of weight, usually they arrive at its maturity weighing between 8 and 25 kgs. Identifying Chinooks
Identifying Chinooks
During their youthful state, the salmons Chinook are not radically different from other youthful salmons or the same trout's. During his development in the sea they obtain muscular bodies extremely, adorned in almost perfect silver-plated
tonalities in his flanks, deriving to a blue-greenish one in his backs. Later when they arrive at the maturity, the coloration is extremely particular. In the males, the robust back is cover by black points, of diverse sizes and irregular forms.
In their dorsal fin also are diverse dark
points, as well as part of the fin of great volume. In the case of the adult females, these even maintain more shining tonalities until their maturity outpost. Another great difference between mature males and females is the presence of a jaw curved in form of hook in the case of the
males, as well as its marked back more, and in addition, the so large average at which arrives, being the females in general smaller than the males. During their bullfights of egg-laying these salmons maintain their weight far better that their close relatives.
Particularly it is the case
of the females, that forts, robust brilliants stay and while they move towards the egg-laying rivers. As he advances the season of egg-laying, the males take very dark tonalities, almost black, whereas the females obtain a tone of the polished bronze. The scheme of color of the salmons
Chinook is considers only between the salmons of the Pacific, since two phases are distinguished, one with a strong associated reddish tone with the salmon in egg-laying, whereas a third of the population of Chinook shows a white-silver-plate coloration.
In the salmoners courses of Canada,
where these fish can grow more up to 20 kgs and, Chinooks receives the name of salmon “Tyee” (of spring), being identified therefore the greatest salmons. Smallest salmons are called “Jack”, with a weight between 1 and 4 kgs. Any salmon in the intermediate rank, that is to say, from about
6 to 18 kgs receives the generic name of Salmon King (King Salmon). Other names by which these salmons know themselves are: Quinnat, Tule, and Blackmouth.
The greater salmon Chinook registered is a giant of 126 pounds (about 60 kgs approx), captured with networks of fishing in the zone of
Petersburg, Alaska, in 1949. Registries in sport fishing indicate a record of 97 pounds (almost 45 kgs) with equipment of launching, and 63 pounds (almost 30 kgs) with fly.
As it happens in diverse species of salmons of the Pacific, different varieties from salmons exist Chinook, each one
of them distinguible by the time of the year in which they raise by the rivers to lay eggs. Some Chinook make an entrance early, entering the rivers in the beginning of the summer, and others do it in autumn.
THE SPAWNING
The of maturation process of a salmon is extremely variable between diverse specimens. The growth from alevín to the adult can be a very slow or very fast process. Some males obtain the total maturity in only a year
(with which 4 kgs enter less from return the river weighing something than), whereas others are even taken up to 8 years (arriving at extraordinary sizes from on 30 kgs), although the common thing is that the process lasts 4 years. In the case of the females, the process is more uniform,
occurring commonly that the females in the river have 5 or 6 years of age.
In the same way, Chinook tends to move in the sea in random starting, more than to follow a cycle established. Some travel towards the sea as soon as they are able, whereas others remain in the rivers by many months before migrating to
the ocean; being a period of 5 months the normal permanence of the youthful ones in the fresh water rivers. Being in the sea, Chinook has gotten to travel more than 3,000 Km. distances of before returning to their native
waters.
Chinook usually lays eggs in great tributary rivers or the important ones, always near the sectors of greater current (riffles). They even tend to look for deeper waters and with gravel greater than other species of salmons of the Pacific,
although a clear tendency for this does not exist.
Chinooks let too feed themself while they overcome the river, reason why their organisms go progressively degrading itself, although they even maintain a lasting power reserve by several
weeks and a pair of months. In those rather short fluvial systems (less of 100kms from the sea), Chinooks arrives at the sectors from very early egg-laying and in excellent state from health, hoping patiently the most suitable moment, as much in temperature as water level to come to the
reproductive ritual. In their last days, the bodies of Chinooks are of energy and defenses devoid, reason why numerous fungi and infections are attacked by, producing to them clearly distinguibles white spots, finally getting to die after laying eggs successful.
Each female deposits from 3,000 to 14,000 eggs in diverse nests in the gravel, also known in Anglo-American Literature like “redds”, which she excavates with movements of her relatively deep water tail and with
movement. These eggs eclosionate during the winter depending on the moment of the egg-laying and the temperature. Just appeared fish, calls ale vines, lives between seeds it by some weeks, until gradually they absorb the food in its vitelin e
coat. Once absorbed the coat, it is known them like “fry”, and swim between rocks until the spring, feeding itself on plankton and after insects. Soon, counting already on some months, and even a year, these molts migrate towards the sea where they will spend the next years feeding
themselves on the marine life and growing to significant rates.
 | Rodrigo Sandoval has admired the Chinook salmons from the first time that he saw an egg-laying of these giants in Salmon River, of Oregon. Since then he has seen with great detail the process of adaptation and presence that this Chilean water species has experienced. |
