Salmon Counting · Episode 2 of 8 · 42 min
The Secret Life of a Sockeye Salmon
What are we actually trying to count, and why is it so hard to see? A sockeye is born in freshwater, vanishes into lakes and the open Pacific for years, then finds its way home to spawn and die. This natural-history heart of the series covers anadromy, the years out of sight, the run, the spawning gravels and redds, and why managers count escapement rather than the whole run.
Where it happens
- North Pacific Ocean+1 more episodeWhere sockeye spend one to three years riding the Alaska Gyre
- Bristol Bay, Alaska+7 more episodesBackbone of the sockeye fishery
Timeline
- Year 0Female digs a redd and lays 2,000-5,000 eggs; both parents die within weeks.
- Year 1Fry emerge and move into a nursery lake.
- Years 1-3Juveniles rear in fresh water, eating zooplankton.
- Migration yearSmolts ride the rivers to the sea.
- 1-3 years at seaGrowth in the open North Pacific, the hidden ocean chapter.
Still debated
Homing is often told as flawless but some fish stray to non-natal streams, which is how salmon colonize new habitat. How much straying occurs, and the harm hatchery strays can do to wild stocks, are open questions.
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