The Silver Salmon.
The silver salmon (Oncorhynchus milktschitsch) is called Coho about Puget Sound, Kisuteh or Bielaya Ryba (white-fish) by the Russians. This species is very similar in size and color to the red salmon. It is distinguished at once by the much smaller number of gill-rakers (23 instead of 37). Its dorsal fin is always black at tip. The flesh is less firm than that of the red salmon, and the scales fall off when the fish is handled, leaving only those along the lateral line. The fine texture and loose attachment of the scales is the most convenient mark to distinguish the silver salmon. In the spawning season it becomes hook-nosed and the color changes to blotchy red. The flesh of the silver salmon is rather pale, without the deep red hue of the red salmon. In flavor it is rather better than the latter, and only the pale color keeps it from ranking with the best of salmon.
The silver salmon runs in the fall and ascends the streams for a short distance only. It remains close in shore. The young can be taken with a seine at almost any time along the shores in Alaska, and these seem to remain in the rivers longer than the young of the other species. The species is taken in small numbers at all the fishing grounds in Alaska. When enough are taken, it is canned as 'Coho' or as 'medium red,' but no dependence can be placed on it. It runs in Alaska from August 15 to September 15. When it begins to run in the streams it is not far from its spawning time, and its flesh is deteriorated. For these reasons, although a fine food-fish, it will never have much economic importance.
The silver salmon is common in the rivers of Japan. The king salmon is unknown in Japan, there being no ice-fed rivers suitable for it. The red salmon runs in a few lakes (as Lake Akan) in the extreme north (Nemuro) of the northern island of Hokkaido or Yeso.
The Humpback Salmon.
The humpback salmon {Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) is known to the Russians as Gorbuscha and to the trade as pink salmon. This is a small fish, seldom weighing over six pounds and often not over three. It differs from the other salmon in its very small scales. The presence of oblong black spots on the tail is also characteristic. Its flesh is soft, very much less firm than in the preceding species. It is pale in color, and without much of the characteristic salmon flavor. When fresh it is fairly palatable and quite wholesome, and the bellies when salted are of good quality. The flesh becomes soft in a short time after death, becoming tainted in 48 hours or less in the cool climate of Alaska. When the species begins to run in the river, its flesh loses the little oil it has and is almost worthless as food. The humpback salmon
