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Chum Salmon
- Mouth is white with a white gum line
- Well developed teeth
- No spots on tail or back
- Calico markings (vertical bars) – faint on bright fish
- Narrow caudal peduncle
- White tip on anal fin
Jaw
The mouth is white and the gum line is white, but the tongue may be black. The lips are fleshy with well developed teeth in both jaws, but there are no teeth on the base of the tongue.
Tail
The tail has no spots, but does have silver streaks covering about half of the fin. The caudal peduncle is narrow.
Chum (Dog) Salmon
Oncorhynchus keta
Other names: dog salmon, calico
Average size: 10-15 lbs, up to 33 lbs
Male chum salmon develop large "teeth" during spawning, which resemble canine teeth. This many explain the nickname dog salmon.
Spawning
Chum use small coastal streams and the lower reaches of larger rivers. They often use the same streams as coho, but coho tend to move further up the watershed and chum generally spawn closer to saltwater. The result is a watershed divided between the two species, with all the niches filled.
Like coho, chum can be found in virtually every small coastal stream. In the fall, large numbers of chum can often be seen in the lower reaches of these streams, providing opportunities to view wild salmon in a natural environment.
Rearing
Chum fry do not rear in freshwater for more than a few days. Shortly after they emerge, chum fry move downstream to the estuary and rear there for several months before heading out to the open ocean.
