Pacific Salmon Life Histories

by C. Guoot and C. Groot

Pacific salmon are an important biological and economic resource of countries of the North Pacific rim. They are also a unique group of fish possessing unusually complex life histories. There are seven species of Pacific salmon, five occurring on both the North American and Asian continents (sockeye, pink, chum, chinook, and coho) and two (masu and amago) only in Asia. The life cycle of the Pacific salmon begins in the autumn when the adult female deposits eggs that are fertilized in gravel beds in rivers or lakes. The young emerge from the gravel the following spring and will either migrate immediately to salt water or spend one or more years in a river or lake before migrating. Migrations in the ocean are extensive during the feeding and growing phase, covering thousands of kilometres. After one or more years the maturing adults find their way back to their home river, returning to their ancestral breeding grounds to spawn. They die after spawning and the eggs in the gravel signify a new cycle. Upon this theme Pacific salmon have developed many variations, both between as well as within species. Pacific Salmon Life Histories provides detailed descriptions of the different life phases through which each of the seven species passes. Each chapter is written by a scientist who has spent years studying and observing a particular species of salmon. Some of the topics covered are geographic distribution, transplants, freshwater life, ocean life, development, growth, feeding, diet, migration, and spawning behaviour. The text is richly supplemented by numerous maps, illustrations, colour plates, and tables and there is a detailed general index, as well as a useful geographical index.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0774803592
• ISBN13: 9780774803595
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 3.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 8.4" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

By scientists for scientists

This is a reply to the first review: this book is not meant for bed-time reading, it's a book by some of the premier salmon researchers of the 1970s and 1980s, written as a compilation of their knowledge of the various salmon species, and, as a summary "of much of the available biological information on the life histories of the seven Pacific salmon species," it's not for the casual reader, despite what the back cover says (Preface, x). As for the comment that it doesn't "express a view about the declining salmon populations," it shouldn't. It's a book about the LIFE HISTORIES of salmon, not about salmon conservation or anything else. Also, each chapter is by a different scientist, rendering a conservationist agenda impractical. Finally, it was written before 1991, when neither the aquaculture nor the depletion of today were present in their present magnitude. That said, I think it is an excellent book--it has everything I've ever wanted or needed or might want to know about salmon (though some information might be a bit dated). My only wish is that the contributing authors had organized their chapters to make it more easy to find information about particular geographical areas. The back cover states that it is an excellent resource for "students and teachers of biology or fisheries science, people in the fishing and aquaculture industry, and interested laypersons..." but interested parties might want to check the table of contents before purchasing this book. A more general and readable book worth perusal is "The Behavior and Ecology of Pacific Salmon and Trout," written by T. Quinn, another salmon scientist (2005).

Excellent Book on Salmon

I recently received this book, after waiting to get it for about 2 months. It is the most informative book about salmon ever, with information on everything salmon. It has few color pictures, but has some very interesting statistics in black and white. Though it does not express a view about the declining salmon populations, I'm sure you can find the reasons in the book. It had a lot of facts, but believe me, it would take a lifetime to read through the whole book. Why 4 stars and not 5? It was relatively boring. Unlike other books I've read about salmon, this one was developed like a textbook. I recommend it to someone who wants to know everything they can about salmon, not someone looking for some bed-reading.