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Pink Salmon, Spring Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

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Common name - Pink Salmon, Spring Salmon
Scientific name - Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Rating
  • 1
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  • 5
Caught at sea Gill net, Troll, Purse seine
Capture Area Pacific  FAO 67
Stock Area USA
Stock Detail Alaska
Summary
All pink salmon caught in Alaskan waters is from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as environmentally responsible. Fisheries underwent reassessment, and it was concluded that all Alaskan salmon fisheries continued to meet MSC criteria in 2007.
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 the 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. Pink salmon can grow to about 80cm and reach an age of 3 years. Sexual maturity is reached at about 2 years. Spawning occurs in July to October.
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. 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.