Canada's Pacific Coast

The Pacific Coast of Canada, with nearly 30,000 kilometres of coastline, is truly unique. In fact, Canada’s Pacific coast boasts a level of biodiversity unparalleled in other Canadian waters, including six species of Pacific salmon:

• Sockeye - Blue-tinged silver in colour, sockeye salmon live four to five years, weigh up to 7 pounds (3.2 Kg), and are the slimmest and most streamlined of the five species.

• Coho - Bright silver in colour, coho salmon live three years, weigh up to 15 pounds (6.8 Kg), and are a popular game fish sought by sport fishers.

• Pink - Living only two years, pinks are the smallest of the Pacific salmon, weighing up to 7 pounds (3.2 Kg), and are the most plentiful of the five species.

• Chinook - Lightly spotted on their blue-green back, chinook salmon live from five to seven years, and weigh up to 120 pounds (55 Kg). They are also known as Springs or Kings, and are the most famous game salmon sought by sport fishers.

• Chum - Resemble sockeye and have black specks over their silvery sides. They live three to five years, and weigh up to 13 pounds (5.8 Kg). Also known as Keta salmon.

• Steelhead – An ocean-run trout that significantly resembles Rainbow trout, but is more slender. Steelhead average 8 pounds (3.6 Kg) but can reach over 50 pounds (22.5 Kg). Like Rainbow, the coloration on the back is basically blue-green shading to olive with black, regularly spaced spots.

Originally, Pacific salmon ranged from California to Alaska. But in just the past 100 years, Pacific salmon have disappeared from almost half of this range. It is becoming increasingly clear along the northwest coast of North America that salmon are in crisis as catches have declined drastically and many stocks can no longer be fished at all.

This is also true in British Columbia where there are over 9,600 genetically distinct Pacific salmon stocks. The province’s Fraser River is home to the most-productive salmon fishery in the world, but over 10 stocks of upper river coho are now officially considered endangered.

Once, the oceans seemed boundless and endlessly bountiful. Now, as more and more of us look to the ocean for food, raw materials and waste disposal, we realize the oceans have limits. Each of us, however, can make a difference and together we can work to protect the beauty and the bounty of the oceans.