Common name: Coho Salmon
Family: Salmonidae (Salmonids) Subfamily
Species: Onchorhynhus Kisutch
Description: Adult weight about 8 to 12 pounds and they are 24 to 30 inches long. The adult coho is bright silver with small black spots on the back and on the upper lobe of the caudal fin. They can be distinguished from the Chinook Salmon by the lack of black spots on the lower lobe of the tail and gray gums; Chinnook have small black spots on both caudal lobes and they have black gums. Spawing adults of both sexes have dark backs and heads with brown to reddish sides. The males develop a prominent hooked snout with large teeth called “kype.” Juvenile coho have 8 to 12 parr marks evenly distributed above and below the lateral line with the parr marks narrower than the interspaces. The adipose fin is uniformly pigmented. The anal fin has a long leading edge usually tipped with white, and all fins are frequently tinted with orange.
Habitat: Coho salmon use freshwaters, nearshore and of shore inveroments. When coho reach the estuaries, coho salmon fall prey to a number of other species and may be impacted by human changes, such as shore line development. The time spent in theis habitat is critical to the development of the species and their ability to survive in the offshore envirment .
Habitat:
Range/migration: After spendng up to 18 months in the water these 3 to 5 years, old adults migrate late in the season and for a long period . After reproduction some will migrate almost immediately and most wll remain at least one year in fresh water lakes or streams.
Food: Young coho eat greedly .They begin to eat smaller fish, mostly of other fish species, large coho feed on smelt and aleives.
Reproduction: Spawing occurs from November to January, with the eggs hatching the following spring. Coho remain in streams for over a year. Moving seaward the following spring , most coho return to spawn when they are three years old. The mature male fish returns after two years and they are known as “jacks.” Adults hold in pools until they break apart, then they move into spawing grounds: spawing generally occurs at night. The female digs a nest , called a reed, and deposits 2,400 to 4,500 eggs. She dies a few days later. As the eggs are deposited. The male fertilizes them with sperm. The eggs developed during the winter, and hatching in early spring the embryos remain in the gravel using the egg yolk until they emerge in May or June.
Enemies: Predatory fish and birds prey upon coho salmon.
More information:
http://wwwkrisweb.com/kriswebkt/shasta/coho.html
http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/angling/gamefish/coho.phtml
http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/notebook/fish/coho.htm
http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/educohofacts.html