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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Oncorhynchus nerka
Sockeye Salmon

 
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)
English Name: Sockeye Salmon
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: F-ONNE
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Jul 2022)
Provincial Status: SNR (Jul 2019)
BC List: Not Reviewed
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
COSEWIC Comments: Sakinaw Lake (assessed 2016-04-30) and Cultus Lake (assessed 2003-05-01) Populations are listed as Endangered by COSEWIC.
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: Sockeye salmon have numerous small scale, one dorsal fin plus one adipose fin, and no spines in the fins. The upper surface and tail fin of adults lack distinct dark spots. The first gill arch has 28-40 long slender gill rakers. The ocean stage is blue-green on top, silvery below. Spawning adults have a green head and bright red body, with the colors most intense in males. Maximum length is about 33 inches (84 cm). Young have 8-14 elliptical to oval parr marks on each side.
Global Reproduction Comments: Anadromous forms migrate from ocean waters up coastal streams and rivers to spawn in natal waters. They spend 1-4 years (usually 2 years) in the ocean before ascending streams (mainly in summer but some stocks as early as winter). Many stocks spawn in fall (peak often in October or November), but spawning extends into winter in some areas. Spawning sites often are in gravel riffles, sometimes along gravelly shores of lakes where seepage outflows, springs, or wind-induced waves occur. Eggs hatch in 6-9 weeks, depending on temperature, and larvae emerge 2-3 weeks later. Sockeye fry move upstream or downstream to nursery lakes, where the young spend 1-2 years (up to 3 or rarely 4 years in some areas of Alaska; usually 1 year in British Columbia) before going to sea, usually in spring; some populations use stream areas for rearing and may migrate to the sea soon after emergence.

Many non-anadromous (kokanee) populations move from lakes into tributary streams to spawn, though some remain in lakes. They enter spawning streams from late spring to midsummer, depending on the population. Kokanee spawn in different areas from August to February, at temperatures of 40-55 F.
Global Ecology Comments: Life cycle of sockeye similar to kokanee except sockeye matures in the ocean rather than lakes. Kokanee often travels in large schools. (Sigler and Sigler 1987). Two studies each reported survival rate of 4-20% for marine portion of life cycle (see Pauley et al. 1989). Northern squawfish and rainbow trout may be important predators on young in some lakes. Schools of young in lakes disperse as dusk approaches, reform after dawn (Pauley et al. 1989). In Montana, the introduction of opossum shrimp (MYSIS RELICTA) was followed by an abrupt decline in the kokanee population, apparently due to zooplankton decline caused by shrimp predation (Spencer et al. 1991).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		Y /
Y /
Y /
na /
Global Migration Comments: Anadromous forms migrate from ocean waters up coastal streams and rivers to spawn in natal waters; spend 1-4 years (usually 2 years) in ocean, 2 years in freshwater; ascend river, spend 1-8 months in lake, then move to natal spawning area. Many non-anadromous populations move from lakes into tributary streams to spawn, some remain in lakes. Enters spawning rivers from late spring to midsummer, depending on the population.
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Nonbreeding adult sockeye salmon are oceanic, with many occurring in nutrient-rich waters of Alaska and the arctic. Kokanee do best in large, cold, mountain lakes (Sigler and Sigler 1987), where the presence of well-oxygenated water is essential (Sublette et al. 1990).. Water temperatures above 60 degrees F (about 15.5 C) lead to significant mortality, especially among the young (see Sublette et al. 1990). Young are not often found in estuarine or inshore waters after reaching the marine environment (Pauley et al. 1989).

Kokanee usually spawn in tributary stream of lake, often in riffle over gravel substrate; sometimes along gravelly shore of lake where seepage outflows, springs, or wind-induced waves occur. Sockeye move up coastal rivers and spawn in streams. Female constructs a redd (several nesting pockets) in gravel (usually) or sand bottom.
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Piscivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Kokanee feed on zooplankton. Young sockeye eat primarily planktonic crustaceans. At sea, young sockeye feed on zooplankton, small fishes and insects; as they grow they eat more fish.
Global Phenology:
Global Phenology Comments: Kokanee: feeding generally heaviest from sundown to dark (Sigler and Sigler 1987). Young sockeye feeding heaviest in afternoon, lightest at night and early morning (Pauley et al. 1989).
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 71/ /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: During oceanic feeding and maturation, this salmon ranges throughout the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and eastern Sea of Okhotsk north of 40 degrees north latitude; there is considerable intermingling of Asian and North American populations, and of North American populations from Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska streams; the range shifts southward for winter, northward during warmer months. Natural lake populations occur in Japan, former USSR, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Yukon, and British Columbia. Anadromous forms occur in Asia from Hokkaido, Japan, to the Anadyr River (spawning mainly on the Kamchatka Peninsula); in North America, anadromous populations range from the Sacramento River, California, north to Point Hope, Alaska (common in north, rare south of Columbia River drainage). Major Alaskan spawning areas are in tributaries and lakes of the Kenai, Chignik, Naknet, Kuichak, Wood, and Kodiak Island river systems. South of Alaska in the Pacific Northwest, the major spawning river is the Fraser River system in British Columbia, with smaller runs in the Baker, Columbia, Cedar, Quinalt, and Ozette rivers in Washington. The Fraser River includes a number of important nursery lakes (Cultus, Adams, Harrison, Horsefly, Shuswap, and Quesnel) and many tributaries that support the major portion of the Pacific Northwest population. In eastern Washington, major nursery lakes for Columbia River are Lake Wenathchee and Osoyoos Lake. In western Washington, major nursery lakes are Quinalt Lake, Ozette Lake, Baker Lake, and Lake Washington. In a 1996 survey of populations in the contiguous U.S., one healthy native stock was identified (Wenatchee River, Washington). The kokanee (lake-stream form) has been introduced in many western states and elsewhere, but most transplants have been unsuccessful in establishing self-sustaining populations.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Jan 21, 2010
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC.
Burgner, R. L. 1991. Life history of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Pages 1-117 in C. Groot and L. Margolis, editors. Pacific salmon life histories. University of British Columbia Press, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. xv + 564 pp.
COSEWIC. 2003d. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka (Cultus population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 57 pp.
Foerster, R.E. 1968. The sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 162 xv + 422 pp.
Huntington, C., W. Nehlsen, and J. Bowers. 1996. A survey of healthy native stocks of anadromous salmonids in the Pacific Northwest and California. Fisheries 21(3):6-14.
Kokanee. 1999. B.C. Fish Facts. Conserv. Sect., Fish. Manage. Branch, B.C. Minist. Fish. 2pp.
Lee, D. C., and J. Hyman. 1992. The stochastic life-cycle model (SLCM): simulating the population dynamics of anadromous salmonids. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Paper INT-459, Ogden, Utah. 30 pp.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
McPhail, J.D. and C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 173, Ottawa.
Meffe, G. K. 1992. Techno-arrogance and halfway technologies: salmon hatcheries on the Pacific coast of North America. Conservation Biology 6:350-354.
Metcalfe, C. D. 1989. Tests for predicting carcinogenicity in fish. Reviews in Aquatic Sciences 1(1):111-129.
Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona. 293 pp.
Morrow, J.E. 1980. The freshwater fishes of Alaska. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, AK. 248 pp.
Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
Nehlsen, W., J. E. Williams, and J. A. Lichatowich. 1991. Pacific salmon at the crossroads: stocks at risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Fisheries 16(2):4-21.
Nielsen, J. L., editor. 1995. Evolution and the aquatic ecosystem: defining unique units in population conservation. American Fisheries Society Symposium 17, Bethesda, Maryland. xii + 435 pp.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
Pauley, G. B., R. Risher, and G. L. Thomas. 1989. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Pacific Northwest): sockeye salmon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 82(11.116). 22 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
Sigler, W. F., and J. W. Sigler. 1987. Fishes of the Great Basin: a natural history. University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada. xvi + 425 pp.
Slaney, T. L., K. D. Hyatt, T. G. Northcote, and R. J. Fielden. 1996. Status of anadromous salmon and trout in British Columbia and Yukon. Fisheries 21(10):20-35.
Spencer, C. N., B. R. McClelland, and J. A. Stanford. 1991. Shrimp stocking, salmon collapse, and eagle displacement. BioScience 41:14-21.
Stearley, R. F. 1992. Historical ecology of Salmoninae, with special reference to Oncorhynchus. Pages 622-658 in R.L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp.
Sublette, J. E., M. D Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 393 pp.
Taylor, E. B., C. J. Foote, and C. C. Wood. 1996. Molecular genetic evidence for parallel life-history evolution within a Pacific salmon (sockeye salmon and kokanee, Oncorhynchus nerka). Evolution 50:401-416.
Thomas, J. W., Ward, J., Raphael, M.G., Anthony, R.G., Forsman, E.D., Gunderson, A.G., Holthausen, R.S., Marcot, B.G., Reeves, G.H., Sedell, J.R. and Solis, D.M. 1993. Viability assessments and management considerations for species associated with late-successional and old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. The report of the Scientific Analysis Team. USDA Forest Service, Spotted Owl EIS Team, Portland Oregon. 530 pp.
Waples, R. S. 1990a. Conservation genetics of Pacific salmon. II. Effective population size and the rate of loss of genetic variability. Journal of Heredity 81:267-276.
Waples, R. S. 1990b. Conservation genetics of Pacific salmon. III. Estimating effective population size. Journal of Heredity 81:277-289.
Waples, R. S., and D. J. Teel. 1990. Conservation genetics of Pacific salmon. I. Temporal changes in allele frequency. Conservation Biology 4:144-156.
Williams, J. E., J. A. Lichatowich, and W. Nehlsen. 1992b. Declining salmon and steelhead populations: new endangered species concerns for the West. Endangered Species Update 9(4):1-8.
Wydoski, R. S., and R. R. Whitney. 1979. Inland fishes of Washington. The University of Washington Press, Seattle. 220 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2010. Species Summary: Oncorhynchus nerka. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).