Salmon

[Guest sslatter]

Hi all...

 

Yesterday, whilst out scouting for new mullet fishing spots on my local estuarine stretch of river, I came upon a dead salmon, half-decomposed, lying on a bit of 'beach'. The thing is, I don't know much about salmon, but there was one thing I noticed about it: it had the most pronounced kipe (sp?) I've ever seen on an Atlantic Salmon. The fish itself wasn't very big-about 24" long, but it also had a very pronounced 'humpback'. It looked just like a 'sockeye', only a dull silver-grey. I reckon its weight to be about 7-8 pounds.

So to my question: I always thought that the more pronounced the kipe, the older the fish, but this fish can't have been that old (ref: size) could it? Yet the kipe (and the humpback) was enormous. Is this normal for an Atlantic Salmon? Are there regional variations?

[Adz]

Graham,

 

The kype in atlantic salmon is moreoften indicative of sex, not age - along with sexual organs in their first year, the kipe is part of the spawning trim and not present until they make their first spawning run.

 

Most likely you've found a dead male grilse, just one of many that didn't make it back to sea post spawning. ISTR that only something like 2% of salmon spawning are 'repeat spawners' from the previous year and more often than not these are females, so if you've found one, you're quite likely to find others too.

 

Cheers,

[Guest sslatter]

Cheers for that Adz. What about the 'humpback'? Is that a spawning feature too?

[Adz]

It certainly could be part of the spawning features but it's more likely a result of trauma during death or post mortem, or possibly a deformation during life.

 

I'm not a fishery scientist to be able to give you a definitive answer though and without a photo all anyone can do is give you a good guess ;-)

 

From what I've seen on this board, Bruno is your man to get a more definitive answer from.

 

Cheers,

[Guest sslatter]

Cheers for the info. The hump looked just like the hump on a sockeye, but even more pronounced. It didn't look like a trauma. I'll take my camera with me tomorrow, and see what I can find. If it's still there, gulls permitting, I'll get a photo, and post it.

[Vagabond]

There have been reports of Humpback Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from a few places in Scotland since they were introduced to the White Sea.

 

That seems more likely than Sockeye, which as far as I know have not been introduced to Europe (go on someone, tell me they have!)

 

Where did you see this beast ? I see your location is South Coast, so any sort of Pacific salmon there would be news indeed.

 

Hope you can get a photo

 

[ 10. January 2003, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

[Guest sslatter]

Vagabond:

There have been reports of Humpback Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from a few places in Scotland since they were introduced to the White Sea.

 

That seems more likely than Sockeye, which as far as I know have not been introduced to Europe (go on someone, tell me they have!)

 

Where did you see this beast ?  I see your location is South Coast, so any sort of Pacific salmon there would be news indeed.

 

Hope you can get a photo

I found it in suburban Southampton, on the Itchen estuary. I'll be back there tomorrow with a camera, hoping that it's still there. I'll also ask around my contacts down here, to see if anyone has seen anything similar. Regarding the scottish reports, how does a non-indigenous salmon suddenly turn up in a new water?

[Duncan]

Hi Vagabond,

 

Sorry have a look Here

The whole document makes very interesting reading especially "transfers by bucket"

 

TTFN

Duncan

[Guest sslatter]

Okay...I've got some photos, on a borrowed digital, and I have to go to a friend's house later, in order to download them and send them to myself, after which I'll post them. They're pretty inconclusive, though. In the two days since I first found it, it has been well-eaten by gulls, and most of the 'hump' is now sitting in assorted gulls' stomachs. It is still possible to see the beginnings of the hump at the back of the head, though, and the rose tinge to the tail, or what's left of it.

I asked a salmon fishing contact what he thought. He described to me some south coast regional variations in Atlantic Salmon- according to him 'Frome salmon' are 'short and stumpy', 'Avon salmon' are long and lean, and 'Test/Itchen salmon' are 'somewhere in-between'. Although he said he'd seen some very odd-shaped salmon, especially after spawning, he'd never seen nor heard of a 'humpbacked' salmon in the locality. I'll post the photos asap.

I had a look on Google, and found numerous references to scottish populations of Onchorhynchus Gorbuscha, and a few irish ones. On an italian site, they had a european map of the distribution of Pink Salmon, which appears to show some cornish incidental sightings, and even some mediterranean ones, in the Adriatic, as well as all around scotland. It's difficult to read though.

And Duncan? I've searched that document link for 'Transfers by bucket' but I can't find any mention of it. Can you be more specific, and point me in the right direction? Thanks.

 

[ 11. January 2003, 06:28 PM: Message edited by: Graham X ]

[Vagabond]

Duncan:

have a look  Here   . I thought someone might come up with a definitive list of introductions, and this has it in spades - as you say, very interesting reading. Digesting it might keep me off the net for a few hours !