Chinook Salmon – spawns in the canterbury gravel rivers

spawns in the canterbury gravel rivers

Size: Length: 60–90 cm, Weight: 5–15 kg
Lifespan: 3–7 years
Diet: Feeds on small fish squid and crustaceans in ocean. Stops eating entirely when returning to freshwater rivers to spawn. Relies on stored energy reserves for upstream migration.
Habitat: Inhabits deep fast oxygen-rich rivers of Canterbury and Marlborough regions. Requires gravel bottoms for successful spawning. New Zealand holds only self-sustaining population in Southern Hemisphere.
Range: Found in South Island particularly in Canterbury and Marlborough rivers. Prefers deep fast oxygen-rich water with gravel bottoms for spawning. Introduced from North America early twentieth century.
Endemism: Introduced
Main Threats: Habitat loss from dam construction water extraction and river modification poses significant risks. Overfishing and competition with other salmonids also threaten populations. Climate change affects water temperature.
Population: Introduced species. Unlike Atlantic salmon chinook have established small wild populations in few South Island rivers. Also farmed commercially but wild fish are ones that get anglers out of bed at 4am.
Conservation Status: Introduced
Human Risk: caution
Handling Note: introduced sport fish, sharp dorsal spines cause puncture wounds
Conservation Note: Introduced freshwater fish; established in some South Island rivers for sport fishing.
Assessment: NZTCS Freshwater Fishes (2023)
Te Ao Māori: This fish has no Māori name because it is not native. American settlers introduced it to New Zealand in the early 1900s. It took to the South Island rivers as if it had always been there. Today it is the fish of the Canterbury rivers. It keeps the fly fishermen coming back year after year. They hope for a glimpse of that big red wild king. It is an icon of the introduced sport fishery not the indigenous ecosystem.

The largest of the Pacific salmon this fish is the big brother of the family. It can reach over a metre in length and weigh nearly 30 kilograms. A thick muscular body carries small dark spots on the back and tail. In the ocean the colour is silvery-blue. When running up rivers to spawn it turns deep brick red. The fish changes its clothes for the occasion. It is an athlete among introduced species. Most of its life is spent in the ocean. There it feeds on small fish squid and krill growing fat and strong. Then an ancient instinct takes hold. Feeding stops. It swims up the same river where it was born. Rapids are fought. Waterfalls are leaped. Shallow gravel beds are pushed through. Not a single thing is eaten. By the time the spawning grounds are reached the fish is running on empty. It is a suicide mission dressed in red. For New Zealand anglers it is the holy grail. Harder to catch than Atlantic salmon it fights harder and tastes better. The flesh is deep rich orange-red packed with oil and flavour. This is the fish that dreams are made of. To catch one is to win the lottery. It makes a person forget all the cold wet mornings spent standing in a river casting into nothing. It is the fish of the Canterbury rivers. It keeps the fly fishermen coming back year after year. They hope for a glimpse of that big red wild king. The river roars. The salmon leaps. The line goes tight. For a moment nothing else exists. Then the fish is gone or it is in the net. The story begins. The story is the point. The fish is just the excuse.