Coho Salmon

Coho salmon often inhabit smaller rivers and tributaries along the Pacific coast.  They can reside in rivers and streams that are too small for other species, such as Chinook salmon.  As adults, coho salmon often forage in shallow coastal waters but can also migrate thousands of miles in the North Pacific Ocean before returning to their natal streams.  Spawning habitat is small streams with stable gravel substrates with cool, consistent water flow.  

Young coho salmon which inhabit lakes and rivers eat mainly insects. When migrating to the sea, the young salmon dine on plankton and small crustaceans. As they grow and move further out to sea, they begin to eat larger forage such as anchovies, sand lance, herring and squid. 

Migration Behavior 

Coho salmon begin life in freshwater tributaries all along the Pacific coast.  Coho spend approximately the first half of their life cycle (18 months) rearing and feeding in streams and small freshwater tributaries.  The juveniles migrate to the ocean in the spring. The remainder of the life cycle (another 18 months) is spent foraging in estuarine and marine waters of the Pacific Ocean. ?The adults return to spawn in the river where they were born, usually in the fall (September to December). Spawning habitat is small streams with stable gravel substrates and cool water temperatures.  Like all Pacific salmon, coho spawn only once and then die. 

Coho salmon average 24 inches long, but some adults have been recorded as long as 42.5 inches.

On average, coho salmon weigh between seven and 11 pounds, but can reach up to 36 pounds. 

Coho salmon return to their natal streams in the fall, usually after the much larger Chinook salmon have entered their natal rivers.  In general, adult coho salmon migrate from the sea, gather at the river mouths, and proceed upstream when autumn rains signi?cantly increase water ?ows. Upon arriving at spawning areas, the female will dig a nest, called a redd, with her tail.  Upon completing the redd, the female drops her eggs, and the male will fertilize the eggs.  The female will then cover the eggs with gravel.  The eggs will remain in the streambed over the winter.  The young salmon hatch in the early spring, and emerge from the gravel to begin feeding in the stream.   

After they hatch, young coho spend the next year in freshwater before undergoing changes necessary to survive in saltwater.  This process is called ‘smoltification’.  Once the young coho are ready, they migrate out of freshwater and into the ocean.  They will spend the next 18 months feeding, growing and becoming adults.  As adults, they will return to the same river where they were born three years earlier.