Sockeye salmon or Red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka, Rus. Nerka)

Sockeye differs from other salmon with its lean body of silver color with long and closely spaced gill rakers. In its spawning dress fish has bright red color (only its head is green).

Main ranges of Asian sockeye are in Kamchatka in two water bodies such as the Ozernaya river and Kamchatka river (85-90% of stock). It enters rivers of Avachinsky and Olyutorsky bays, the Bolshaya river, the Palana river and other.

Migratory sockeye enters rivers with lakes in their basins in the present time or used to be in the geological past. Sockeye can be as long as 84 cm (33") and as heavy as 4.5 kg (10 lb) with average size of 57-63 cm (22-29”) and weight of 2.2-2.8 kg (5-6.2 lb). It develops some dwarf forms which do not go into sea but became mature in fresh water and participate in reproduction together with migrating fish.

One defines summer and fall sockeye by time of its run and spawn. First one spawns in July-August in lake and river spawning grounds; second one spawns in August-October basically on littoral of lakes. Its river run is prolonged from the end of May till the beginning of September. Homing feeling of this species of salmon is clearly expressed as most of fish return to the same lake and to the exact spawning ground where they appeared.

Beside migrating form there is landlocked sockeye in some lakes. It is Kokanee or Princess trout (Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi) which lives permanently in lakes and grows slower than migrating one. Its length is 23-28 cm (9-11”) and weight is 110-240 g (3.9-8.5 oz). It habits in Kronotskoye and Tolmachevskoye lakes in Kamchatka.