Dark Winter Mystery Salmon

Observation: Salmon in March caught on the Iglutalik River is not easily identified by anyone. Fish is unusually dark with no spots visible. Fish was caught March 19, 2017 along the Iglutalik River 10 miles from Koyuk. Some have said Chum, Sockeye, or even a Hybrid. No one knows what species of Salmon this fish is.

LEO says: We have shared this observation with the ADF&G Subsistence Division to assist with identification. Do you know what kind of fish this is? You can contact us by clicking on the "Comment" button.

Member consults:

In LEO webinar on March 22, 2017 participants were asked about this post. The following comments were shared:

Patty Yaska writes: It looks like a chum, sometime "black kings" swim up the lower Kuskokwim in the winter time.

Martha Turner writes: That does look like Chum, my great grandma use to say this is how the fish prepare for winter, meaning when they get dark like this.....it's because they put on their winter coats. Just thought I 'd share what the elders say.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Consult: Erica Mitchell from the Division of Subsistence Northern Region Office staff writes: "Looks like a chum: calico marks, white mouth, narrow caudal peduncle. Counts of fin rays, lateral line scales, and gill rakers would confirm species (nice project for the Koyuk science teachers). The head looks large relative to the body size which makes it appear to be a juvenile. The dark coloration would suggest it’s been in freshwater as opposed to salt. How far up the river was the fish caught? I also don’t know enough to say whether the color also might be a function of its diet. This looks like a perfectly normal fish, so hopefully people can be reassured that it doesn’t represent any risk to the public or anything unusual going on with salmon in general."

Resources:

Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)