Scientific Name:	Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson, 1836)
English Name:	Cutthroat Trout
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference:	Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
Classification Level:	Species
Species Group:	Vertebrate Animal
Species Code:	F-ONCL
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Animalia Craniata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status:	G5 (Dec 2017)
Provincial Status:	S4 (Mar 2000)
BC List:	No Status
Provincial FRPA list:
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
SARA Comments:	ssp. lewisi is SC on SARA schedule 1
General Status Canada:	4 - Secure (2005)
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Reproduction Comments:	Inland populations spawn March-early July, depending on location and conditions; coastal populations usually spawn February-May (Moyle 1976, Scott and Crossman 1973). Eggs hatch in 6-8 weeks. Females are sexually mature at 3-4 years, males at 2-3 years (Sigler et al. 1983). Females spawn up to five times during their lifetime. See Stearley (1992) for a discussion of the historical ecology and life history evolution of Pacific salmons and trouts (ONCORHYNCHUS).
Global Ecology Comments:	In streams, cutthroats defend feeding territories. Population densities are regulated mostly by stream size and morphology, overwintering habitat, stream productivity, and summer cover for predator avoidance (New Mexico, Sublette et al. 1990).
Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial)
Nonmigrant:     Local Migrant:     Distant Migrant:     Within Borders Migrant:	Y / N / Y / na /
Global Migration Comments:	In general, anadromous (sea going) and lake cutthroat trout make extensive spawning migrations; nonmigratory stream- dwelling cutthroats are often quite sedentary (Moyle 1976). In summer and fall, radio-tagged cutthroat trout in Strawberry Reservoir in Utah had single-month home ranges that were usually about 3-4 km in maximum length (Baldwin et al. 2002). In the Blackfoot River drainage, Montana, radio-tagged westslope cutthroat trout moved 3-72 km (mean 31 km) to access spawning tributaries (Schmetterling 2001).
Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments:	Estuaries or marine waters near the coast, small rivers, gravelly streams, and isolated mountain lakes. Spawning usually occurs in gravel stream riffles where the female digs a nest (redd) in the gravel.
Food Habits:	Invertivore: Adult, Immature Piscivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments:	Opportunistic. Inland cutthroats feed primarily on insects (aquatic and terrestrial); often feeds in and especially downstream from riffle areas; some large individuals feed mostly on fishes; also eats zooplankton and crustaceans. Coastal cutthroats feed in salt water on crustaceans and fishes; in streams, they eat aquatic insects and crustaceans, also frogs, earthworms, fishes, fish eggs, salamanders, etc.
Global Phenology:
Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder:	N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g):	99/ /
Elevation (m) (min / max):	Global:  Provincial:
Distribution
Endemic:	N
Global Range Comment:	Anadromous forms: Pacific Coast drainages from Eel River, California, north to Prince William Sound, Alaska, generally not more than 160 km inland; non-migrating fish also occur through this range. Allopatric inland forms: Rocky Mountains in Hudson Bay basin, Mississippi River basin, Great Basin (including Lahontan, Bonneville, and Alvord basins), and Pacific basin from southern Alberta south through California to the Rio Grande drainage, New Mexico, and east to Colorado and Montana (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 1991). The greatest abundance of pure interior cutthroat trout occurs in Yellowstone Lake and the Yellowstone River drainage above the falls in Yellowstone National Park (Behnke 1992). Widely stocked in and out of the original range. Established in Laurentian lakes, Quebec. However, rarely has become naturalized much beyond the original distribution (Behnke 1992). Occurrence in high elevation headwater lakes is due primarily to introductions (formerly excluded by falls) (Behnke 1992). Locally common (Page and Burr 1991).
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author:	Hammerson, G.
Last Updated:	Mar 11, 2003
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
References and Related Literature
No references available

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. 2003. Species Summary: Oncorhynchus clarkii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jul 11, 2026).