Oncorhynchus keta, Chum salmon : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish, aquarium

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Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum, 1792)

Chum salmon
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Oncorhynchus keta   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Oncorhynchus keta (Chum salmon)
Oncorhynchus keta
Male Picture by Keeley, E.R.

Russian Federation country information

Common names: Chum salmon, Haiko, Keta
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Dolgov, A.V., 2000
Importance: commercial | Ref: Dgebuadze, Y.Y., 2016
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: FAO Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Service, 1993
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs in the Poronai and Tym' Rivers (Ref. 27681). Found in Sakhalin and Kamchatka (Ref. 37812). Migrates from the Lena River to the Tumannaya River which empties into Peter the Great Bay. This species was introduced into the rivers flowing into the Barents and White seas as well as into the Caspian basin however introduction was not successful (Ref. 26334). Introduction into the Volga drainage failed (Ref. 59043). Commercially cultured in the past (Ref. 7306). Also Ref. 27436, 45022, 96339, 119200. nEurRus
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Reshetnikov, Y.S., N.G. Bogutskaya, E.D. Vasil'eva, E.A. Dorofeeva, A.M. Naseka, O.A. Popova, K.A. Savvaitova, V.G. Sideleva and L.I. Sokolov, 1997
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Saumon chien, Keta, سلمون كلب, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Salmoniformes (Salmons) > Salmonidae (Salmonids) > Salmoninae
Etymology: Oncorhynchus: Greek, onyx, -ychos = nail + Greek, rhyngchos = snout (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Walbaum.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; anadromous (Ref. 132363); depth range 0 - 250 m (Ref. 50550), usually ? - 61 m (Ref. 96339). Temperate; 0°C - 24°C (Ref. 35682); 67°N - 24°N, 130°E - 110°W (Ref. 117423)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North Pacific: Korea , Japan, Okhotsk and Bering Sea (Ref. 1998), Arctic Alaska south to San Diego, California, USA. Asia: Iran (Ref. 39702).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 70.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 559); common length : 58.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3561); max. published weight: 18.1 kg (Ref. 56631); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 1998)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 14; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 17; Vertebrae: 59 - 71. Distinguished by the lack of distinct black spots on the back and tail and by the presence of 18 to 28 short, stout, smooth gill rakers on the first arch (Ref. 27547). Pelvic fins with axillary process; caudal truncate to slightly emarginate (Ref. 27547). Large individuals are steel-blue dorsally, with speckles of black; silver on the sides; silvery to white ventrally. Males have tinges of black on the tips of its caudal, anal and pectoral fins. Spawning males are dark olive to black dorsally; grey-red with green vertical bars on the sides; dark grey ventrally; anal and pelvic fins with white tips. Spawning females resemble spawning males but less distinctly marked.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits ocean and coastal streams (Ref. 86798). Migrating fry form schools in estuaries, remain close to shore for a few months and finally disperse to enter the sea (Ref. 1998). Epipelagic (Ref. 58426). Juveniles and adults feed mainly on copepods, tunicates and euphausiids but also on pteropods, squid and small fishes (Ref. 1998). Adults cease feeding in freshwater (Ref. 1998). Males and females die after spawning. The catch is mostly canned but also sold fresh, dried-salted, smoked, and frozen. Eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved, and baked (Ref. 9988). Utilized for caviar.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Enters freshwater during advanced stage of sexual development and spawning occurs almost immediately (Ref. 1998). Spawning occurs at depths of ~3 meters, current speeds of ~20cm/sec. near the head waters over sand and pebbles at 4-11° C water temperature. At spawning time the female excavates a hole of around 1 meter diameter and 50 cm depth before spawning can occur (Ref. 12218). Nest building is done by the female by lying on one side and lashing its tail to displace the sand and silt on the river bed. The pair then settles in the nest, mouths gape, and with rapid vibration of the pair, eggs and milt are released. The female then covers the nest. Males are aggressive and may spawn with different females; females likewise may spawn with other males and therefore builds different nests. Adults die after a week (Ref. 1998). A fish spawns 700-7,000 eggs in two to three egg releases. Eggs are ~300-3,500 per spawn. Egg size is ~6.7 mm, water temp. is 8-10°C at 60 days before hatching. Larva size is around 16 mm. Come springtime the juveniles go to the ocean and come back 3-4 years later to their exact birthplace. This fish reaches maturity in 2-4 years. Larvae are found around the spawning site, Juveniles are found around the coast. Juveniles migrate to the ocean at ~27-45 mm during February at water temperatures around 4° C (Ref. 12218). Reproductive strategy: synchronous ovarian organization, determinate fecundity (Ref. 51846).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 23 July 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Aquaculture systems: production; Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: production; Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OceanAdapt | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 1.1 - 8.3, mean 3.3 °C (based on 192 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00751 - 0.02781), b=3.10 (2.94 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.27-0.45; tm=2-5; tmax=6).
Prior r = 0.32, 95% CL = 0.21 - 0.48, Based on 8 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 15.6 [4.4, 41.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.337 [0.168, 0.758] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [17.2, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 1.71 [0.78, 3.77] g/100g; Selenium = 110 [32, 369] μg/100g; VitaminA = 13.3 [4.6, 41.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.424 [0.266, 0.821] mg/100g (wet weight);