Diet of a Salmon

Sublime · 11-04-2002, 02:28 PM

Does anyone truly know the diet of a salmon??
I'm doing a paper on what they eat. I would love any input as to what they eat when they are out at sea. I'm guessing herring, squid, anchovies...anything else? :whazzup:

do they switch as they get older?

thanks for any help! :smile:

SUBLIME

fish-on · 11-04-2002, 02:34 PM

herring , sardine, squid , candelfish, anchovie, krill :smile:

skrimmy · 11-04-2002, 02:36 PM

corkies, yarn, gummy worms, buzz bombs, spinners, spoons....... :grin: :grin: :grin:

oops, you said "out at sea"....... that changes everything!

[ 11-04-2002, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: skrimmy ]

11-04-2002, 03:05 PM

One primary diet item is shrimp, thus the color of Salmon meat.

Chum King · 11-04-2002, 03:21 PM

Sublime:

You didn't state which salmon species you were referring to. :whazzup: Although there are some commonalities between some species, there are also a wide range of food habits according to size of the fish, species of the fish, and what food/prey is available.

As a general rule salmon ((and many other fish species) do switch food types as they grow. Obviously a 6-8 inch chinook smolt is not likely to eat a 5 inch herring, sardine, anchovy, or even a sand lance, but obviously a 15 lb chinook will. Sockeye and chum salmon generally eat only small prey items i.e. zooplankton, while coho and chinook graduate quickly to a diet of fishes, squid, etc. One favorite prey item for coho in the ocean off Oregon are the crab larvae that are swimming at the surface, but the coho will also graduate to the larger prey as soon as they can.

Since you are doing a paper, I would hope that you will do a bit of research at your library. I don't think that you will get much mileage with your teacher/professor with a citation from Chum King from the Ifish discussion board.

A good starting place would be to look up "Pacific Fishes of Canada". As I recall it has at least some minimal life history and food habits information for each species described. Good luck! :grin:

Miss B Haven · 11-04-2002, 03:22 PM

I can tell you what they don't eat, at least not the smart ones- my bait! :shocked:
****** - I always heard that too, then I saw my first white meated Chinook. It was a frazier fish, apparently the yall have the white meat. Maybe they still eat shrimp, jsut don't pick up the color for some reason? :whazzup:

11-04-2002, 05:32 PM

Miss B,
The "white kings" are missing the gene that causes them to retain the pink pigment from their food.

[ 11-04-2002, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

Uglygreen · 11-04-2002, 05:39 PM

Chumking,

Seriously - no offence intended (I mean that), but I gotta ask what you do for a living? I'm guessing you are a teacher (not liberal arrts but maybe math / biology / physics) at the high school level.

Am I wrong?

UG

Sublime · 11-04-2002, 07:04 PM

[ 11-04-2002, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: Sublime ]

Sublime · 11-04-2002, 07:05 PM

okay, let me rephrase that.....CHINOOK salmon!

skrimmer~ nice :grin:

and as for the paper, well, just thought i'd get some input...don't worry, u won't be..
...CITED!

Sublimeeeee :grin: :grin: :grin:

Chum King · 11-04-2002, 09:35 PM

Sublime:

Okay, well if we are talking about chinook they usually start small and work up. As juveniles in freshwater they are going to be eating little bugs and the like. That continues as they move into the estuary, but they will also be eating some of the small shrimp, larval fish, etc. Basically whatever they can choke down that has nutritional value. As they move out into the ocean and grow, they will progressively move to include larger prey items, but they will still feed on some of the smaller things like shrimp.

They are going to opportunistic and eat whatever they can catch and swallow, but when there is a choice they are probably more likely to go after the high calorie species like herring and sardines that have lots of oil. Prey items in the ocean include the previously mentioned items and a whole host of other species including juvenile rockfish.

A chinook (or any salmon for that matter) has one goal in its life: to spawn successfully. To reach that goal and be more successful than their competition, they need to be as big as they can, with lots of energy reserves (stored fat), and larger females that have more eggs will be more successful in spawning.

The energy reserves are especially important with spring chinook that hold in fresh water for up to 6-7 months prior to spawning without feeding, and for chinook that have long freshwater migrations. That is why the springers and upriver brights of the Columbia are much more desirable for human consumption than the tules which have a very low oil content (very short spawning migration).

Again, good luck!

UG: Guess again another day. :grin:

Eric W. · 11-04-2002, 10:07 PM

******

Why do large trout in land locked lakes have pink meat? Shrimp?

Just wanting to tap the well of knowledge inside.

sleepguy

PapaHog · 11-04-2002, 10:11 PM

I sure learn lots here at ifish.

crabbait · 11-04-2002, 10:12 PM

Eric - Patzke's eggs.

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 11-04-2002, 10:18 PM

Chum King

Very correct replies, nicely done.
I would like to add that the size of returning adults may also have something to do with spawner density in a given river system and competition for the best spawning gravel. I believe there was a 1995 study that looked at this aspect but I can�t find it right now.

By the way, your first name isn�t Eric is it?

Eric W
Astaxanthin or Canthaxanthin added to the hatchery food :grin:

[ 11-04-2002, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: *** Clerk ]

Chum King · 11-04-2002, 11:26 PM

*** Clerk: You might be right, but I'll have to check my ID to be sure. Now where did I put that wallet? [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Do I know you from another life?

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 11-05-2002, 07:07 AM

Chum King

In another life I was a yellow pages. It makes it easier to know everyone� :grin: