Alaska Saltwater Fish
Alaska salmon swim wild
throughout the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean,
Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and are quite
plentiful. More than 213 million salmon were
commercially harvested in Alaska in 2004. This
was the second largest harvest of salmon in
Alaska history, and exceeded the predicted
harvest by 51 million.
King Salmon -
Chinook:
Lightly spotted on their blue -green back,
chinook salmon live from five to seven years, and
weigh up to 120 pounds. Known also as Chinook
salmon, they have the highest oil-content, which
is what gives a salmon its rich flavor. The king
is the largest of all salmon species, and the
most desirable to sport fishers.
Red
Salmon - Sockeye:
Blue-tinged silver in color, sockeye salmon live
four to five years. They weigh up to 7 pounds,
and are the slimmest and most streamlined of the
five species of Alaskan salmon. Known to
fishermen in Alaska as reds, the sockeye is
historically our most valuable fish because of
its high oil content and ability to hold its
bright red flesh color.
Silver Salmon -
Coho:
Bright silver in color, coho salmon live three
years, weigh up to 15 pounds, and are a popular
game fish sought by sport fishers. Coho are known
as silvers when caught before full maturity. They
are the most popular game fish of the salmon
family, as well as one of the most valuable
commercial species.
Pink Salmon -
Humpies:
These are the smallest and most abundant salmon
in area waters. Pinks have a two-year life cycle
and average 3-5 pounds. Upon entering freshwater
streams, pinks develop a dorsal hump, thus their
nickname "Humpy."
Other Alaska Saltwater
Game Fish:
There are many different bottom fish patrolling
Alaska's cold deep waters.
Halibut:
Halibut are by far the
most popular bottomfish inhabiting the waters of
Alaska. The Pacific Halibut is a toothy flatfish
that is normally caught on or near the ocean
floor. As with the majority of bottomfish,
drifting or anchoring with bait are among the
most preferred means of enticing these monsters,
which can literally take hours to land. The
largest Pacific Halibut ever caught while sport
fishing, tipped the scales at 495
pounds.
Ling Cod (Southeast
Alaska):
Like Halibut and rockfish,
Lingcod are usually found on or near the bottom,
most often over rocky reefs in areas of strong
currents. These fish are extremely aggressive
predators, often growing to over 50 pounds in
weight and 4 feet in length. These feisty fish
usually range from 10-40 pounds and are abundant
throughout Southeast Alaska's fishing
season.
Pacific
Cod:
One of the most desirable
of the North Pacific Ocean's groundfish, the
Pacific cod is also known as grey cod, true cod
or P-cod. It is similar to the Atlantic cod, with
a belly shading grey to white, and has the
typical chin barbel of the cod. The Pacific cod
ranges the entire coast of Alaska and is
harvested year round by trawls, longlines and
pots.
Rockfish:
Rockfish is a term used to
describe over 35 species of light-fleshed
bottomfish, including the yellow-eye (red
snapper) rockfish and black sea bass. Most
rockfish weigh between 1-6 pounds, with the
yellow-eye being the largest, averaging 6 pounds.
Rockfish are long-lived, and depending on the
species, may reach ages of 30-100 years. Good
rockfish fishing occurs during the warm summer
months.
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Watch a fisherman fight a salmon at Sheep Creek, Alaska
Les Anderson holds the record for catching the largest king salmon. It weighed 97 lb 4 oz and was caught in Soldotna, Alaska on the Kenai River on May 17, 1985.
(Fish pictured here is a 44 lb spawning King salmon)