Lenhth: 24-31 inches
Weight: 7-13 pounds
Life Span: 3-5 years
Resembling sockeye, chum (or keta) salmon have black specks over their
silvery sides and faint grid-like bars. They live three to five years, and weigh
up to 10 lb. (4.5 kg). Chum salmon offers a milder, more delicate flavour with a
creamy pink to medium red flesh colour. Chum salmon are the most widely distributed and have the greatest
biomass of the North Pacific salmon. They are the second largest of the
salmon (Chinook are the largest). Chum salmon are one of the most common salmon
in the sport fishery. The name 'chum' comes from a word meaning 'variegated
coloration' in the native language and chum salmon have a different coloration
(from other salmon species) that is variegated.
Reproduction for chum
salmon is somewhat varied. Many reproduce near the mouth of their stream
(like pink salmon) whereas others travel up to one hundred miles inland. They
migrate to the ocean after six to seven months in fresh water but spend three to
five years in the ocean. The long period of time spent in the ocean gives them
plenty of time to feed and grow to their large size. Because they are found in
the same streams, the chum may hybridize with the pinks in their stream.
Although this rare event has been documented numerous times (and the hybrids are
thought to be fertile) there are no hybrid populations that are self-sustaining
at this time.
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