[x]

If you have a few seconds just before you download the Guide, we'd really like to know a little more about you so that we can keep you up to date with our campaigns and other activities.

No thanks...
Read our data protection policy
Registered Charity England and Wales No. 1004005 | Scotland No. SC037480
[x]
Common name - Coho salmon, Silver Salmon
Scientific name - Oncorhynchus kisutch
Rating
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Caught at sea Gill net, Troll, Purse seine
Capture Area Pacific  FAO 67
Stock Area USA
Stock Detail Alaska
Summary
All coho salmon caught in Alaskan waters is from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as environmentally responsible. The fisheries underwent reassessment and it was concluded in 2007 that all Alaskan salmon fisheries continued to meet MSC criteria.
Biology
Pacific salmon occur from California, north along the Pacific coast throughout the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean waters adjacent to Alaska. The five species (chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye) are members of a large family of fish known as salmonidae, which are abundant throughout the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres. Pacific salmon are a shorter lived species and much more prolific breeders than Atlantic salmon. Coho, the second largest of the 5 species, has a 3 to 4 year life cycle. Average weight around 5kg. Spawning occurs between November and December. Maximum reported age 5 years.
Stock Information
The Alaska salmon fishery occurs within US territorial waters adjacent to the coast of the State of Alaska and is managed by staff of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). The Alaska state constitution requires that the salmon habitat is conserved and protected. Today, this constitutional requirement, as well as effective management, has brought the salmon fishery to health. In 1959, state-wide salmon harvests were about 25 million salmon a year. In 1999 (forty years later) Alaska's commercial salmon catch was 214 million fish, the second largest in the state's history. The legislation includes: establishing open and closed seasons, setting quotas, bag limits, harvest limits, sex and size limitations, establishing the methods and means employed in the pursuit, capture and transport of fish, watershed and habitat improvement, management, conservation, protection, use, disposal, propagation and stocking of fish, regulating commercial, sport, guided sport, subsistence, and personal use fishing as needed for the conservation, development, and utilisation of fisheries. All pink salmon caught in Alaskan waters is from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as environmentally responsible fisheries. The fisheries underwent reassessment and it was concluded in 2007 that all Alaskan salmon fisheries continued to meet MSC criteria.
Capture Information
Salmon are harvested by nets (drift and set gillnets, purse seine) and trolls.
Alternatives
(Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating: only fish rated 3 and below are included.)
Read what the consumer pages of the Good Fish Guide say about this species.