The Salmon family is one of the most important among commercial fish. Their meat has pronounced beneficial properties, as it contains omega-3 fatty acids. Their intake with food in the human body lowers blood cholesterol, which means it helps prevent various diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Family Description
The Salmon family includes fish with a rather oblong, scaled body. Their head is bare, their antennae are absent. The main distinguishing feature of the fish of this family is the presence of a fat fin that does not have rays. They also have a dorsal fin, numbering from 10 to 16 rays. The eyes of the fish of the Salmonidae family are covered by transparent eyelids. In females, eggs from the ovaries enter the body cavity, and from there through special openings into the water. There are different types of salmon fish, but they all have one feature. Individuals are able to change their appearance depending on the living conditions, as well as their life cycle. For example, their appearance becomes different during spawning. Especially males are subject to change, which acquire a kind of mating outfit. Their color from gray becomes spotty, with patches of black, red or bright raspberry shades. The skin coarsens, scales grow into it. Jaws bend, teeth grow. A hump appears on the back. Researchers have various versions of the appearance of mating attire in fish. Some attribute this to a return to the appearance of their ancestors, others to the action of hormones, others believe that such a transformation allows attracting females.
Classification
The Salmon family, whose representatives have very tasty and nutritious meat, are divided into two subfamilies:
- Actually Salmonids;
- Sigovye.
Representatives of the whitefish subfamily are distinguished by a small mouth, larger scales and structural features of the skull. Fish belonging to the Salmonidae family are classified, and by belonging to a particular genus:
- Pacific salmon are found in the Pacific basin. They have medium-sized or small scales, large red-orange eggs. A feature of the life of these fish is their death after spawning. Types of salmon fish belonging to the Pacific genus: chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon.
- Real salmon have a shorter fin containing fewer rays than their Pacific counterparts. Young individuals have teeth on the back of the vomer. These fish also change their usual appearance to a “mating outfit” during the spawning period, but do not die after it. They live in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. You can meet them in the Black, Aral, Caspian and Baltic Seas. For real salmon, a bright coloring of the scales is characteristic.
- Loaches are also part of the Salmonids family, the list of their names, however, is not as large as that of Pacific salmon. This genus is similar to real salmon, but its representatives do not have teeth on the opener bone, as well as bright spotted color.
Pink salmon
An important commercial fish of the Salmon family is pink salmon. She is the largest representative of Pacific salmon. Salmonids of this species are medium-sized, reach a maximum length of 76 cm, their maximum weight is 5.5 kg. It lives in the north of the Sea of Japan, off the coast of Kamchatka, in the Sea of Okhotsk. The appearance of pink salmon varies depending on the place of its stay. Being in the sea, the fish has light scales, on the back there are many small dark spots. As the spawning approaches and the pink salmon descend into the rivers (salmon, as we have said, change their appearance during this period), it becomes brown, its head and fins almost black. Only the belly retains its former light color. A huge hump grows in males in the back area, and the jaws on which teeth appear are strongly modified.
The life expectancy of pink salmon is approximately 18 months. In the second year, almost all individuals become sexually mature, prepare for spawning. It occurs from June to September, time depends on the habitat. Spawning places are located on sections of rivers located quite close to the sea. In this regard, the path to them takes pink salmon significantly less time than other representatives of Pacific salmon. The optimum temperature of water in rivers during spawning is from 6 to 14 degrees. The eggs laid by the females form a spawning tubercle. In late September, the larvae begin to emerge, which continues, depending on the spawning period, until January. From April to July, fry move to the sea. At first they are located in river mouths, then they are distributed along coastal waters. By October, their period of life at sea usually begins.
Chum
Another fish important in commercial value is chum salmon, a photo of which can be found in school biology textbooks. She lives in the entire North Pacific. The fish has a silver color, which changes with the approach of spawning. The scales darken, brown streaks appear on the body. By the beginning of spawning, the fish almost completely turns black, even the palate and tongue change color. The chum salmon, the photo of which was taken during the feeding season, is radically different from the one that was captured during the period of entering the rivers. Representatives of this species are divided into summer and autumn individuals. Summer chum salmon goes to spawn in early July - mid-August. It reaches a maximum length of 80 cm. Autumn chum salmon grows up to 1 m, its mass is also greater than that of a summer individual. Such fish spawn in late August - early September. Keta rises along the rivers much further than pink salmon, the path often takes a lot of time. Because of this, fish often spawn already under the crust of ice. At the same time, for the offspring of summer chum, there is a possibility of death due to the deep freezing of small rivers, where it lays its eggs. Autumn chum salmon spawns in places where groundwater emerges that do not freeze so much, so its fry survive until spring, when they emerge from spawning mounds and descend into the sea.
Red salmon
Many species of fish include the Salmon family. Representatives of the genus Pacific salmon - sockeye salmon. This fish is most widespread in the region of the American Pacific coast. Its largest number is recorded in Alaska. In our country, sockeye salmon is much less common than chum salmon or pink salmon. This fish comes mainly to the rivers of Kamchatka and Anadyr. Also, this valuable fish of the Salmon family visits the rivers of the Kuril and Commander Islands. Her meat is bright red in color, with an excellent, rich taste.
During its marine life, the sockeye salmon has a silver body color, only dark blue stripes pass on the back. Her appearance dramatically changes during the mating season. Fish attract attention to themselves with bright red sides, a green head and red fins. Pink salmon and chum salmon characteristic of the mating dress are practically absent in the color of sockeye salmon. There are only small black spots on the tail or body. Spawning begins early, usually in May or June, and continues until the end of summer. In this case, most of the juveniles descend into the sea only the next year after leaving the eggs, which occurs in the middle of winter. Some individuals linger in rivers for up to 3 years. True, there are also those who make a descent into the sea already in the year of release from the caviar. The sockeye salmon reaches maturity by the 6th year of life.
Coho salmon
Coho salmon love warmth more than any other Pacific salmon. On the territory of our country is not widespread, on the Asian coast of the Pacific Ocean, mainly single entry of these fish into the rivers is noted. Quite often found only in Kamchatka. A distinctive feature of coho salmon is its bright silver scales. During spawning, it becomes raspberry. In length, coho salmon can reach about 84 cm, the average size of individuals is 60 cm. Coho salmon go to spawn late - at the end of September. This period lasts until about March. Often spawning passes already under the ice crust. The fry after leaving the eggs for 1-2 years live in the river, and then slide into the sea. This period of life in coho salmon is short-lived. Already in the third year of existence, individuals become sexually mature and die after spawning.
Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon is the largest representative of the Salmonidae family. Its length is an average of 90 cm, but much larger individuals weighing up to 50 kg are also found. Despite this, in our country Chinook salmon does not have an important commercial value, since its quantity in Russia is small. You can meet Chinook salmon on the Asian coast of the Pacific Ocean only in the rivers of Kamchatka, where it goes to spawn. It begins already in mid-May and continues throughout the summer. Chinook salmon spawns without difficulty in a strong current, because of its size it can perfectly resist it. With her tail, she makes holes in pebbles, where she lays her eggs. Fry live in the river for a long time, then slide into the sea. This period of life of chinook salmon takes from 4 to 7 years.
Noble salmon
Noble salmon is often called salmon. This is a massive fish, reaching a length of about 1.5 meters. Her weight is up to 39 kg. The color of the noble salmon is silver, only above the lateral line there are a few dark spots that resemble the letter “X” in their shape. On the sides of the body, the scales have a bluish tint. Walking in the sea, salmon feeds on small fish, crustaceans. With the onset of spawning, the fish stop eating altogether and go down into the rivers pretty thin. The wedding dress is not too expressive. It consists in darkening the scales on the body and the appearance of orange spots. Spawning takes place, depending on the habitat of the fish, in autumn or winter. Salmon caviar ripens slowly, and fry come out of it only in late spring - early summer. At the same time, they remain for a long time to live in fresh waters. The time they enter the sea varies from 1 to 5 years. Adult individuals do not always die after spawning; some fish, despite significant weight loss and frayed fins, can return to the sea. There, they quickly eat off and recover, although repeated spawning is extremely rare in noble salmon. These fish live up to 13 years.
Brown trout
Kumzhu, or salmon-taimen, can be distinguished from noble salmon in color. The spots on her body are located both above and below the lateral line. Round black spots are located on the head and dorsal fin. The trout inhabits the Black, Baltic, Aral Seas. However, she does not make extensive migrations there, since she is significantly attached to fresh water. The length of trout reaches from 30 to 70 cm with a body weight of 1 to 5 kg. Unlike noble salmon, taimen salmon, going to spawn, continues to eat, although not as intensively as in the sea. The fry mature from 3 to 7 years, after which they go to sea.
Lake trout
Lake trout is a trout that does not extend beyond rivers and lakes. These fish live in clear and cold water, and spawn in fast-flowing rivers that flow into lakes. Its color during feeding trout resembles trout. During spawning, the color changes, a mating outfit appears. In females, light scales darken, in males dark orange stripes also appear on it. The color of the fins also changes. In females, they become darker, and in males, the ventral fin acquires a pink or bright orange color.
Char
There are also salmon fish whose names are directly related to their appearance. Loaches, for example, got their name thanks to the small scales that make their body seem naked. They are quite common. In Magadan and Kamchatka, there are about 10 species of these fish that are members of the Salmon family. Loaches can be either walk-throughs that walk in the sea, or residential. The latter may never go to sea, some generally spend their whole lives in lakes, and spawning passes in still water.