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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Oncorhynchus kisutch
Coho Salmon

 
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792)
English Name: Coho 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-ONKI
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Dec 2017)
Provincial Status: SNR (Sep 2019)
BC List: Not Reviewed
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: Numerous scales; one dorsal fin plus one adipose fin; no spines in fins; small black spots on back and upper lobe of tail fin; no dark pigment along gum line of lower jaw; gill rakers rough and widely spaced; lateral line nearly straight. In the ocean, coho salmon are dark metallic blue or greenish on the upper side, with silver sides and a whitish belly. During the spawning season, males are dusky green on the back and head, with red sides and a black belly; they develop a strongly hooked snout and large teeth. Spawning females have bronze to pink-red sides. Total length to around 108 cm.
Global Reproduction Comments: Spawning occurs mainly November-January in California, mainly in December in southern Oregon and northern California, most frequently in January south of the Mattole River, and September-December (mainly November-December) in Washington and Oregon

Female may guard nest for up to 2 weeks. Eggs incubate in winter and hatch in 1.5-4 months, depending on temperature. Young emerge from gravel 2-10 weeks after hatching.

Adults die soon after spawning, at age 2-5 years (usually at three years in Washington, Oregon, and California, 4 years in southeastern Alaska); some males return to spawn after only 6 months at sea.

Stocked populations usually do not reproduce.
Global Ecology Comments: Fry initially form schools, later become territorial after attaining parr stage. Tends to form schools in ocean.
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		N / N
Y / N
Y / N
na / N
Global Migration Comments: Adults migrate up streams typically in late summer and fall (late fall through mid-winter in the far south), when heavy fall rains result in flows strong enough to breach sand bars at the mouths of coastal streams (Moyle et al. 1989).. Some populations, now considered extinct, may have migrated hundreds of miles inland to spawn in tributaries of the upper Columbia River in Washington and the Snake River in Idaho (NMFS 1995).

See NMFS (1995) for information on the oceanic distributions of the different spawning stocks in Washington, Oregon, and California.

In California, "big river coho salmon" begin entering streams typically in September or October, migrate upstream 100-200 km or more to spawning sites; "short-run coho salmon" rarely migrate more than 100 km upstream (Moyle et al. 1989). In California, juveniles begin migration downstream to ocean in early spring; migrate in schools of 10-50 (Moyle et al. 1989).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Coho salmon usually spend 2 (range 1-3) growing seasons in the ocean before spawning. In the ocean, they remain over the continental shelf and generally stay within 30 km of their natal stream (but some may range up to several hundred kilometers away).

Spawning occurs in just about any accessible coastal stream, generally in forested areas, usually at 6-12 C in loose coarse gravel at heads of riffles (or tails of pools) in rounded troughs excavated by females where water is 10-54 cm deep. Females construct and deposit eggs in each of several redds. Individuals generally spawn in their natal stream; however, rapid colonization of newly accessible habitat has been observed.

Young spend a few weeks to 2 years (varies geographically) in freshwater streams before migrating to the sea (young in the north spend a longer time in fresh water than do those in the south). Often this period is substantial and amounts to approximately half of the life cycle. Hatchlings that have left the spawning site seek shallow water, usually along stream margins. Older juveniles prefer pools and runs with good cover, high oxygen levels, and abundant invertebrate populations. Fry may summer in brackish water in southeastern Alaska.

Stocked populations in lakes and reservoirs migrate upstream to spawn or more commonly do not reproduce (must be restocked annually).
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Piscivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Fry feed on a variety of small invertebrates. Parr feed on aquatic insects and their larvae, terrestrial insects, and some small fishes. At sea, preys primarily on other fishes (Moyle 1976), also inverts (see Hassler 1987 for details).
Global Phenology:
Global Phenology Comments: Feeding activity of juveniles reduced in winter.
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 61/ / 6000
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Native range includes the Pacific Ocean and tributary drainages, in eastern Asia from the Anadyr River south to northern Japan and in North America from Point Hope, Alaska, south to central California and infrequently at sea as far south as Baja California. The species is most abundant between Oregon and southeastern Alaska, rare south of central California. It has been widely stocked in lakes and reservoirs throughout North America and elsewhere.

See Frissell (1993) for a map indicating present and former distribution in the Pacific Northwest and California. See Moyle et al. (1989) for further information on distribution in California.
 
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.
COSEWIC. 2002e. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch (Interior Fraser population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. viii + 34 pp.
Frissell, C. A. 1993. Topology of extinction and endangerment of native fishes in the Pacific Northwest and California (U.S.A.). Conservation Biology 7(2):342-354.
Hassler, T.J. 1987. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Pacific Southwest)--coho salmon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 82(11.70).
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.
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.
Lufkin, A., editor. 1991. California's salmon and steelhead, the struggle to restore an imperiled resource. University of California Press, Berkeley. 305 pp.
Meffe, G. K. 1992. Techno-arrogance and halfway technologies: salmon hatcheries on the Pacific coast of North America. Conservation Biology 6:350-354.
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.
Moyle, P. B., J. E. Williams, and E. D. Wikramanayake. 1989. Fish species of special concern of California. Final report submitted to California Dept. of Fish and Game, Inland Fisheries Division, Rancho Cordova. 222 pp.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 1995. Proposed threatened status for three contiguous ESUs of coho salmon ranging from Oregon through central California. Federal Register 60(142):38011-38030.
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.
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.
Sandercock, F.K. 1991. Life history of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Pages 395-445 in C. Groot and L. Margolis, editors. Pacific salmon life histories. University of British Columbia Press, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. xv + 564 pp.
Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
Shapovalov, L. and A.C. Taft. 1954. The life history of the steelhead rainbow trout and silver salmon with special reference to Waddell Creek, California, and recommendations for their management. California Department of Fish and Game, Fish Bulletin 98:1-375.
Simpson, J. and R. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. The University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 238 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.
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.
Stow, C. A., S. R. Carpenter, L. A. Eby, J. F. Amrhein, and R. J. Hesselberg. 1995. Evidence that PCBc are approaching stable concentrations in Lake Michigan fishes. Ecological Applications 5:248-260.
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 kisutch. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 14, 2026).