Chum salmon

Wild animals
>>
Fish

Chum salmon is a fish that belongs to the salmon family. It belongs to the valuable breeds because of its tender, tasty meat and very valuable caviar. It is often called a passageway. Chum salmon, in turn, is divided into several species, as well as two main races. All species existing today are very similar in appearance, have a similar lifestyle and habitat. The exception is Sakhalin chum salmon, which is intended mainly for breeding in artificially created conditions.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Keta

The evolutionary stages of this fish are not well understood due to lack of scientific data. Ichthyologists claim that the most ancient representatives of modern salmon existed in the rivers of North America about 50 million years ago. It was small in size and resembled a grayling in appearance and lifestyle. Due to the fact that representatives of this family in the process of evolution had to survive in a wide variety of climatic conditions, they are very sensitive to changes in living conditions.

Video: Keta

Many salmon species simply went extinct. One of the most striking and amazing extinct species is considered to be the “saber-tooth salmon”. It was named after the saber-toothed tiger due to the presence of long, uncharacteristic fangs for fish. Their length reached 5-6 centimeters in large individuals.

The most favorable time in the history and evolution of chum salmon came approximately 2-3.5 million years ago. It was during this period that salmon divided into species, each of which occupied its own habitat region.

Properties

The benefit of chum salmon lies in the presence of numerous substances that are necessary for the body. Fish contains omega-3 and omega-6, as well as lecithin, so it can be considered an excellent anti-atherosclerotic agent. With regular consumption of red fish, you can significantly reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. Chum salmon contains large quantities of potassium and magnesium - minerals that are important for the normal functioning of the heart muscle. Fish contains calcium and phosphorus, which restore and strengthen bone tissue.

Chum salmon contains thiamine, which has a positive effect on brain function, which in turn improves attentiveness and memory. In addition, this substance is necessary for the normal development of the body and for the functioning of the digestive system, and it also reduces the negative effects of alcohol and tobacco. It is also worth mentioning that chum salmon contains vitamin A, which is important for visual acuity, and it is also involved in the production of collagen. It also contains vitamin E, which acts as an antitoxic agent and has a positive effect on the condition of the skin. Thanks to the presence of ascorbic acid, the immune system is strengthened. Chum salmon contains iron, which improves blood composition and the process of hematopoiesis. Fish helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.

Chum salmon can be harmful if you have an individual intolerance to the product. Like any other product, consuming chum salmon in large quantities is not recommended.

Appearance and features

Photo: What chum salmon looks like

This representative of the salmon family spends most of its life in sea waters. Due to this, it has a color typical of marine inhabitants: silvery-bluish with a tint. The fish has a darker color in the back area, and a lighter color in the belly area. This color allows the fish to remain unnoticed both in the water column and on the bottom surface. Chum salmon has a number of distinctive features and characteristics.

Characteristic external signs:

massive body of elongated, elongated shape;
somewhat compressed, toned sides;
the caudal and adipose fins are slightly shifted towards the tail and have from 8 to 11 feathers;
the head is quite large against the background of the massive body and has the shape of a cone;
the mouth is wide, the mouth has underdeveloped teeth;
there are no dark spots and stripes in the mouth;
the body is covered with medium-sized scales;
there is a large solid caudal fin without a notch.

Interesting fact: During the spawning period, the body shape and appearance of the fish changes dramatically. The body becomes larger and much wider, and a hump forms in the back area. The jaws become much larger, the teeth curve and become much larger and longer. The color becomes brown, yellow, greenish or olive. Purple or crimson stripes appear on the side surface of the body, which darken over time.

Some fish can grow to very large sizes. Its body length can reach 60-80 centimeters, and its body weight can exceed 10 kilograms.

Interesting fact: According to official data, the maximum body size of chum salmon was one and a half meters, and its weight was 16 kilograms!

Fish that go to spawn most often have a body length of approximately 50-65 centimeters. The body size of summer chum salmon is smaller than that of winter chum salmon.

Which fish is best for salting?

The difference between the described types of salmon will also be noticeable when the fish is salted. If you want to prepare a product for further use in creating sandwiches, first or second courses, then you should give preference to pink salmon, with a high level of fat content.

The meat of more expensive chum salmon is also often used with this preparation option, but at the same time, less fatty salting will later become an excellent addition to salads or appetizers. The salting method may not be different, but in the end you will still end up with a product with a different aroma and taste.

Despite the difference in size, appearance, meat composition and range of beneficial properties, both chum salmon and pink salmon deserve the attention of consumers. With proper preparation and selection of additional ingredients, both fish will delight you with an appetizing aroma, good taste and attractive appearance of the dishes.

Where does chum salmon live?

Photo: Chum salmon in Russia

Chum salmon spend most of their lives in salt water bodies near the coastal zone. The main habitat of chum salmon is the Pacific Ocean. The fish is usually called migratory due to the fact that it actually lives in the seas and goes to river mouths to spawn. It is worth noting that for chum salmon to spawn, it seeks to find precisely the mouths of those rivers from which it itself emerged as a fry. Spawning occurs in freshwater rivers of the Far East, Asian countries, North America from California to Alaska.

The fish chooses the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean - the Kuro-Sivo underwater current - as regions for permanent habitat and food.

Geographic regions where chum salmon live:

Sea of Okhotsk;
Bering Sea;
Japanese Sea.

Spawning occurs at river mouths. During this period, fish can be found in rivers such as the Lena, Kolyma, Indigirka, Yana, Penzhira, Poronaya, Okhota, etc. Chum salmon is a shallow-water fish. Most individuals live at a depth of no more than 10 meters. Fish spend a significant part of their life in food migrations. This period can last from 2.5 to 10 years.

Ichthyologists note that of all the representatives of the salmon family that live in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, it is the chum salmon that has the widest habitat. In some regions of Russia, in particular in Kamchatka and Sakhalin, chum salmon lives in artificial pools intended for breeding fish for industrial purposes.

Calorie content

The presented product is a dietary food and has a fairly low calorie content. 100 grams of chum salmon contain 138 kilocalories. During the cooking process of fish, the calorie content of the product will be slightly increased. The smoked product contains 180 kilocalories, the salted product contains 184, and the fried product contains 224 calories.

Many nutritionists offer their patients the meat of this particular fish as a healthy and low-calorie food. It not only contains a minimum number of calories, but is also a very healthy food.

What does chum salmon eat?

Photo: Chum salmon fish

As the fish grows, the lifestyle of the fish changes. When it reaches the optimal size and body weight at which it is relatively safe to exist in the open sea, it begins to lead a predatory lifestyle. During the period of gaining body weight, the fish needs a large amount of food, which can only be found in the sea.

After the fry grow up, they begin to gradually slide into the open sea. There they gather in groups and find quiet, secluded places in which they hide until they reach optimal size.

With age, the fish switches to a predatory lifestyle and eats larger prey. During this period, a large amount of prey is required to ensure that daily weight gain and growth meet the norms.

Food supply for adults:

gerbil;
herring;
smelt;
small flounder;
anchovies;
squid;
sardines;
bulls.

Due to the fact that fish live in a school, they also hunt in schools. The specific coloring helps them not only remain unnoticed by enemies, but also by their prey. Often it is enough for a fish to simply freeze, waiting for its prey. When potential food approaches as close as possible, the fish makes a lunge and grabs the prey. Sometimes a school of chum salmon simply crashes into a school of other fish and simply grabs everyone who did not have time to escape.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Chum salmon in the water

It is very common for this representative of the salmon family to return to the places where it was born. In almost one hundred percent of cases, during the spawning period, chum salmon swim to the places where they were born. It was this characteristic feature that became the main criterion by which ichthyologists divided the chum salmon into two categories according to geographical principles - North American and Asian. Under natural conditions, their meeting is excluded.

The Asian taxon lives and reproduces on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Depending on the regions where they live, ichthyologists have identified several subspecies of this species:

northern taxon;
Sakhalin;
Amur;
Sea of Okhotsk

After the fry develop into mature adults, they do not remain in rivers like other members of the salmon family. To gain sufficient body weight, it goes to the open sea for several years. At first, still immature individuals stay close to the shore in secluded places. Under optimal conditions and the availability of food, the body weight of the fish increases by about 2.5-3% every day. At the moment when the size of the fish reaches 30-40 centimeters, it goes in search of a region where there is a sufficient amount of food. Often such journeys can last several years.

Chum salmon is not a solitary fish; it gathers in numerous schools. Most of them live in the northern regions of the Pacific Ocean. When spring comes and the water warms up, it migrates to the northern coast of America. After some time, numerous flocks are divided into sexually mature and immature. Those fish that are not yet ripe for spawning go to the southern shores. As chum salmon grows and matures, it turns into a real predator.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Kety

Puberty occurs between the ages of 3.5 and 6.5 years. Individuals belonging to the summer race are the first to open the breeding season. The vast majority of females that spawn are younger fish, no older than seven years old. Only 16-18% are females over seven years old.

Representatives of the summer form begin to spawn at the end of summer, beginning of autumn, precisely during the period when the water is as warm as possible and its average temperature does not drop below 14 degrees. Representatives of the autumn form spawn in the fall with the onset of cold weather. The ideal place for spawning is not too deep areas, where the depth does not exceed two meters. The current in such places should not be strong, and pebbles, stones or gravel are best suited as a bottom surface.

After the most optimal place is found, the female prepares a place for spawning. First, with the help of powerful blows with her tail, she clears the surface of the bottom in the place where she intends to spawn. After this, using the same method, she knocks out a hole in the bottom surface, the depth of which can reach half a meter. In each such hole, one female can lay about 6-7 thousand eggs. The total mass of caviar can reach one and a half to two kilograms. Then the males fertilize it, and the female carefully and securely buries it in the ground.

Chum salmon is a fish that is highly fertile. One female individual can form up to three or four such clutches in different areas during one spawning period.

Interesting fact: After laying eggs and forming a clutch, all fish die within about a month. This period is allotted by nature so that the fish can leave their spawning grounds and distribute themselves along the river in order to prevent an environmental disaster.

The incubation period is approximately 120-140 days. After this period of time, embryos emerge from the eggs and are placed in a special yolk sac. It performs a protective function and allows embryos to develop without leaving the place where the eggs are laid. The first emergence of grown fry occurs at the end of April, beginning of May. During this period, the fry gather in groups and hide in coastal vegetation and stones. Thanks to their specific striped color, the fry manage to remain unnoticed by many predators.

Natural enemies of chum

Photo: What chum salmon looks like

Chum salmon are perfectly adapted for living in the open sea. It has an optimal color, which allows it not only to wait for prey, merging with the surface of the bottom or sea waters, but also to hide from enemies in this way. However, she still has enough natural enemies. At each stage of her development she has a fairly large number of enemies. Other marine predators destroy the clutches of chum salmon, eating their eggs, and hunt for fry, as well as for adults. The main natural enemies of fry:

Asian smelt;
loach;
grayling;
kunja;
burbot;
minnow;
lenok;
Dolly Varden;
lamprey.

Adult fish have enemies not only within sea waters. She has enough enemies who live on land. This is due to the fact that it can swim in shallow water and live in the coastal zone.

Enemies of adults include:

bear;
seal;
river gull;
beluga whale;
otter;
dive;
tern;
merganser.

A special place among the enemies of fish is given to humans. He hunts her on an industrial scale. Its caviar and red meat are of great value. Dishes prepared from this type of fish are considered a real delicacy, a culinary masterpiece, and are very highly valued even among gourmets.

Chum salmon are caught using nets and seines. On the territory of the Russian Federation, chum salmon fishing is carried out in the middle reaches of rivers and estuarine areas of the sea. Fish processing plants are built near large fish production sites to avoid spoilage of meat and caviar.

Nutrition

Chum salmon eat crustaceans, small mollusks, and, to a lesser extent, small fish (smelt, herring). During the spawning run it does not feed, the digestive organs atrophy. But sometimes chum salmon are caught on hooks by fishermen in rivers when fishing with live bait and when trolling.

This behavior is explained by a genetic reflex - small fish pose a potential danger to eggs, and chum salmon thus “protect” their future offspring. The young feed on insect larvae and the corpses of their parents.