Sockeye salmon also called , is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Pacific Ocean. The same species when it occurs in landlocked bodies of water is called the kokanee. This species is the third most common type of Pacific salmon, after Pink and Chum salmon.
Its current range is as far south as the Columbia River in the eastern Pacific and northern HokkaidÅ Island in Japan in the western Pacific, and as far north as Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west. Landlocked populations occur in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada, and in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Colorado,New Mexico, and Wyoming in the United States.
Male and female sockeye salmon.A Sockeye can be as long as 33 inches (84 cm) and weigh 6 to 8 pounds (2.5 to 3.5 kilos). It has an elongated, torpedo shaped body, with an adipose fin, and a bluntly pointed snout. The gill rakers located just behind the head are long and closely spaced. Its colouration changes as it migrates from saltwater to freshwater in preparation for spawning. In freshwater, its color is bright red with a pale green head; females may have green and yellow marks or stains. Its color in saltwater is bluish-green on top, silvery on the bottom, with uniform, shiny skin.
The Sockeye Salmon goes by other names such as red salmon, blueback salmon, kokanee.
