If you’ve ever been confused listening to people talk about the different species of Pacific Salmon, you’re not alone. No one knows why, but for some reason each of the five North American Pacific Salmon have two names. It’s really not that complicated!
King Salmon = Chinook Salmon. No difference.
Chum Salmon and Dog Salmon are the same thing.
Sockeye Salmon and Red Salmon are both formally known as Oncorhynchus nerka.
Pink Salmon and Humpback Salmon? Identical.
You can call it a Silver Salmon or a Coho Salmon – it’s the same fish.
If you noticed that all those fish looked pretty bright and fresh, that’s because they were caught at Alaska West, a stone’s throw from the salt on the Kanektok River. Where are all the dark reds and greens and other zany colors? They show up as the salmon lose their fat reserves and get ready for spawning – upriver!
This one really hit home for me – I spent the better part of a round of golf last month with a good friend talking fish nomenclature 101. For those that chase these things all the time, it's easy to forget that this is so confusing for most people.
Thanks for the post – I'm gonna share it with many of the people I've had this conversation with in the past.
I think they’ve changed the names to protect the guilty, I mean who in their right mind will eat chum or Dog salmon… sorry I’m not a dog. The changing of the names has really confused this lifetime Alaskan. I think it’s marketing. So I’ll have to google Keta Salmon as you didn’t cover that one 🙂
And then there is the “Landlocked” Kokanee (called “Kokes) which are Sockeyes that never got to sea…