Sockeye Salmon, Red Salmon | FishOnline | The in-depth guide to sustainable seafood

Sockeye Salmon, Red Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

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Common name - Sockeye Salmon, Red Salmon

Scientific name - Oncorhynchus nerka

Rating

Caught at sea Gill net, Troll, Purse seine

Capture Area Pacific FAO 67

Stock Area USA

Stock Detail Alaska

Summary

All red or sockeye salmon caught in Alaskan waters is from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as environmentally responsible. The fisheries underwent reassessment in 2007 and it was concluded 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. Male sockeyes grow up to about 85cm while females grow to about 70cm. They mature sexually at 2 years and reach an age of about 7 years. Spawning occurs between November and December.

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 in 2007 and it was concluded 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.)

Arctic char
Chinook Salmon, King Salmon
Chum Salmon, Keta
Coho salmon, Silver Salmon
Pink Salmon, Spring Salmon
Salmon, Atlantic
Trout, Brown or Sea
Trout, Rainbow

Read what the consumer pages of the Good Fish Guide say about this species.