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Pacific Salmon Species

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Pacific Salmon: Onchorhynchus

Pacific salmon are a genus, which is a biological classification ranking between a family and a species. They belong to the family Salmonidae, the progenitor of modern salmon and trout.

The genus known as Pacific salmon is scientifically known as Oncorhynchus. (By contrast, Atlantic salmon belong to the genus Salmo.)

There are seven species within Oncorhynchus that populate BC waters. All of them are anadromous, which means they are born in freshwater, spend their adult lives in the saltwater oceans, and return to their natal rivers, or lakes, to spawn. They all need cold water with a high oxygen content, which is why it’s so important to help keep their watersheds clean.

Pacific salmon die after spawning once (this makes them semelparous). Their life’s work, or life cycle, is done. But not so for Steelhead and Cutthroat trout: they can spawn twice or more often, depending on how long they survive.

Other members of the Oncorhynchus genus include:

1. Masu (O. masou)
2. Mexican golden trout (O.chrysogaster)
3. Gila (O. gilae)
4. Apache trout (O.apache)

Learn more!
Pacific salmon life cycle
Professor Salmon
Salmon science