nunilHM's may be 5 years old, Avliilo 

 some are several years older. 



Yoinig of the spring diiiioolv may 

 remain in fresh "vvater for a 3^ear or 

 more after emerging from the 

 gravel, or thej^ may enter the ocean 

 ^vithin weeks of hatching. The latr 

 ter is generally true of the fall chi- 

 nooks. Studies indicate that the 

 fish that migrate to the sea at the 

 earliest time attain the greatest 

 mature size (Van Hyning 1951), 

 but it is probable that the smaller 

 the fish upon entrance into the 

 ocean, the less the chance of 

 survival. 



Chinook salmon are most abun- 

 dant in the Columbia River, and the 

 spring run used to migrate hundreds 

 of miles to the headwaters. The 

 power and irrigation dams erected 

 in the upper river, therefore, have 

 been particularly harmful to this 

 species. The blocking of the spring 

 chinooks from major spawning 

 areas, together with pollution and 

 overfishing, has resulted in a major 

 reduction of spring-chinook popu- 

 lations in the Columbia River, as 

 well as in other streams. The fall 

 chinook has, in most watersheds, 

 been able to reproduce satisfactorily 

 in the lower tributaries, but water- 

 use projects also threaten these fish. 



Of interest to this discussion is 

 the appearance of "grilse," "jacks," 

 or precocious chinook males in the 

 spawning migrations. These males 

 usually are 3 years old, whereas the 

 average age of chinooks is 4 years. 

 These smaller fish are fully mature 

 but are not utilized in hatchery 

 spawning operations and are at a 

 disadvantage in natural spawning. 

 It is reported that the numbers of 



"jacks" or rod salmon enicring the 

 Fraser Rivei- aic indicative of the 

 size of the run (o be expected the 

 following year (Gilbert 1931-34, 

 Rounsefell and Kelez 1938). The 

 writer was unsuccessful in attempts 

 to correlate the returns of "jack" 

 fall chinooks to specific streams in 

 the Columbia River Basin wdth the 

 returns of average-age fish the fol- 

 lowing year. 



OncorhynchuH nerlu: Red (Alas- 

 ka), sockeye (British Columbia and 

 Piiget Sound), blueback (Columbia 

 River), Fraser River salmon. 

 Landlocked forms are known as 

 kokanee, silver trout, yank, or little 

 redfish. 



Range : Bering Sea to the Colum- 

 bia River, predominating in suit- 

 able streams north of Puget Sound ; 

 rarely found south of the Columbia 

 River, although in 1953 five "strays" 

 entered the traps at the Coleman 

 Hatchery (California) of the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service in Battle 

 Creek, tributary to the upper Sacra- 

 mento River. 



Weight : Columbia River average, 

 3 pounds; British Columbia and 

 Alaskan waters, up to 7 pounds, 

 with maximum about 16 pounds. 



The red salmon, like the spring 

 chinook, often ascends the rivers for 

 great distances. It spawns only in 

 streams having lakes in their head- 

 waters. (Rare exceptions to this 

 rule have been reported. ) The adult 

 red salmon remains in the head- 

 water lake until the reproductive 

 products are almost fully developed 

 and then ascends the smaller 

 streams tributary to the lake to 

 spawn. A few fish may spawn in 

 gravel in shallower lake areas 



9 



