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Pink Salmon
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Freshwater Phase
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Pink Jaw
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Marine Phase
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Pink Tail
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Pink Salmon (AKA humpy) Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Anglers should use three or more distinguishing characteristics to properly identify all salmon.
Marine Phase
- Tiny scales and a tail heavily marked with large oval spots;
- Unlike the other salmon species, the tail of a pink has no silver in it;
- In the sea, pinks have silver bodies with spotted backs;
- Smallest of the Pacific salmon, usually weighing about 2.2 kg, but occasionally reaching 5.5 kg;
- More abundant in northern waters in even-numbered years and in southern waters in odd-numbered years;
- Live only two years.
Each pink salmon you keep must be at least 30 cm long.
Freshwater Phase
- Mature males are yellowish gray on the sides of their body, blotched with brown, and dark along back;
- Females are olive green on the sides of their body with dusky stripes;
- Both males and females appear dirty white below the lateral line, and their tails have large oval spots.
Pink Jaw
- The mouth in a pink salmon is white, but the gums are black, as they are in a chinook. It does not have "teeth" on its tongue.
Pink Tail
- The pink salmon has a V-shaped tail covered with large oval spots. It's scales are very small.