Salmon Across Cultures

Few fish have had such a broad cultural impact as the salmon. Every year, hundreds of millions of adult salmon return to the same stretch of river where they were born. They battle against strong currents, predation, disease, and their own exhaustion, all for the opportunity to pass their genes on to a new generation. As they transition from saltwater to freshwater, the fish lose their ability to eat. They must leap up waterfalls, navigate waterways by scent, and spawn with whatever energy they start with. By the end of their journey, most will be completely spent and die. Their bodies then return to the river’s ecosystem, feeding plants and animals alike. Their surviving young swim back out to sea, spend a few years growing to maturity, and repeat the cycle once more.

Types of Salmon

Salmon belong to a diverse and widespread family of fish in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. While Atlantic salmon are represented by a single species, the Pacific salmon are divided into five distinct groups. These are:

• Chinook (or King): Chinook are the largest, rarest, and most prized of the Pacific salmon. They are found throughout the Northern Pacific, from California to Hokkaido in Japan. They are valued for their high fat content and reach about 40 inches in length and 25 pounds. Much larger specimens, weighing closer to 100 pounds, have been caught.

• Sockeye (or Red): Sockeyes are commercially popular due to their balance of fat content, taste, and relatively high populations. Their fry mature in lake systems and may never venture into the ocean. At maturity, they reach about 26 inches in length and 7 pounds.

• Coho (or Silver): Coho salmon are another favorite target of commercial and hobbyist fishermen, but they spawn in somewhat low numbers. Coho prefer to stay close to the coast or in freshwater streams. At full size, they measure in around 28 inches long and 5 pounds in weight.

• Pink (or Humpback): Pinks, also known as humpies, are one of the most numerous salmon species. They are small and short-lived, reaching about 24 inches in length and 5 pounds.

• Chum (or Dog): Chum salmon are large and abundant, but not particularly sought after. Their low fat content makes them a useful survival staple, but they are in low demand commercially. A fully grown dog salmon may reach approximately 31 inches in length and 12 pounds in weight.

Additionally, salmon are closely related to trout, especially the steelhead or rainbow trout, which also migrates between the ocean and freshwater spawning grounds.

The Salmon in Regional Cultures

Wherever salmon return home to spawn, they are greeted by humans and other animals awaiting their arrival. Their predictable migrations, huge numbers, and easily preserved meat have made them a staple food of many northern cultures. Fitting their importance, salmon also play a prominent role in the myths and artwork of these groups. This section examines how salmon have shaped the thoughts and lifestyles of the people who relied on them most.

North America

The Pacific Coast of North America sees major annual salmon runs from Northern California to British Columbia and Alaska. These include all five of the major Pacific species. For the native peoples of these areas, salmon often represented a gift of fertility and prosperity. Many greeted the arrival of the fish with special ceremonies and treated even their corpses with respect. The sheer abundance of salmon gave the tribes an easy source of protein, which could sustain a family throughout the year. The fish not only acted as a staple food, but also fed the ecosystems that provided other necessities of life. Because of the salmon, the peoples of the Northwest coast never needed to develop agriculture. Typical legends from the Northwest coast reflect the fish’s nature as a spiritual entity and gift from the sea.

Further Reading:

• A Haida story of Salmon People: The Tale of Moldy Forehead

• Coyote and the Salmon, from the Klamath River

British Isles

The British Isles see an annual migration of Atlantic salmon, which swim up the rivers of Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. The largest runs occur along the Rivers Tweed, Tay, Spey, and Tyne, mainly in Scotland. In the mythology of the isles, the fish is often depicted as an ancient source of wisdom. Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhaill gains the power to glimpse the future after accidentally eating the fabled Salmon of Knowledge. The knights of King Arthur turn to the oldest and wisest animal they know to find an imprisoned comrade: the salmon of Llyn Llyw. Over time, salmon fishing became a popular sport among British and Irish anglers, leading to a popular tourism industry.

Further Reading:

• Medieval historian Giraldus Cambrensis discusses the salmon of Ireland

• How Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhaill ate the Salmon of Knowledge

• A story from the lives of Tuan mac Cairill

• A King Arthur story of the Salmon of Llyn Llyw

Scandinavia

Atlantic salmon also swarm the cold streams, fjords, and rivers of Scandinavia, where they have long supported a large commercial fishing industry. Salmon have been a major export of Norway, Sweden, and Finland for centuries. These were typically brined, cured, or smoked, allowing the fish to travel long distances in barrels. One popular Norwegian dish, gravlax, is a variant of lox cured with spices, sliced thin, and then served with sauce.

Further Reading:

• Loki attempts to hide from the gods as a salmon

• Border disputes on the River Tana, c. 1800

Japan

In the Japanese archipelago, salmon runs are concentrated along the rivers of Hokkaido and the Kuril Islands to the north. They also spawn on nearby Sakhalin Island and the Kamchatka Peninsula. These areas are the historic home of the Ainu people, who relied on salmon much like indigenous peoples of the American Northwest. The Ainu, too, believed that salmon were a spiritual gift. If they did not treat the spirit within each fish with proper respect, it would not return to feed them again. They held welcoming ceremonies and handled the remains of all animals with care. The majority of Ainu villages, or kotan, were built along salmon-spawning rivers. Like the Northwest coastal tribes, the salmon sustained the Ainu without the need for much agriculture.

More recently, salmon has become a popular addition to Japanese sushi, both at home and abroad. It was not originally consumed raw, due to the presence of parasites in wild Japanese salmon. Salmon sushi only entered the market in the 1990s, pushed by the Norwegian fishing industry to solve its own surpluses.

Further Reading:

• An account of salmon as an Ainu staple

Commercial Fishing and Farming in the Modern Era

The same qualities that made salmon a staple of many cultures has also made them a lucrative target of commercial fishing. Wherever nations have industrialized, their salmon populations have been harvested for bulk export. In certain cases, the indigenous people who once caught the fish for sustenance have transitioned to working at fisheries instead. This change disrupted the balanced lifestyles they maintained for centuries, often with widespread impacts on local ecosystems.

Commercial fishing has expanded access to salmon to global markets. You can now purchase a salmon dinner anywhere from Las Vegas to Melbourne. It has also encouraged the spread of invasive salmon species. These fish may be introduced for sport fishing or through escaped batches at local fish farms. Washington State, for example, has seen an influx of Atlantic salmon in its Pacific waters due to farms. The British Isles and Scandinavia, meanwhile, are dealing with Pacific populations where Atlantic fish should swim. The salmon has even spread to South America’s Patagonia, where it is both farmed and caught wild.

Further reading:

• A look at the methods of Pacific salmon fisheries

• Recipes for canned salmon, c. 1915

Cultures of Conservation

Today, the era of unbridled salmon fishing is past. Overfishing, climate change, and dams blocking spawning grounds have all significantly thinned annual salmon migrations. This has caused concerns not only for industries that employ millions, but for local ecosystems as well. In response, nations like the United States, Canada, Norway, Russia, Japan, and the United Kingdom have all developed extensive salmon farms.

These farms ensure a steady supply of fish, but they cannot address the other threats to salmon populations and their environments. According to the EPA, chinook salmon in Washington’s Salish Sea saw a 60 percent decline between between 1984 and 2010 alone, despite conservation efforts. Atlantic salmon, according to the WWF, have seen a similar population decline of about 50 percent over the last 20 years.

So, how can the people and nations of the northern hemisphere work together to save this essential animal?

• Improving dam design: Most older dams were not built with salmon migrations in mind. The dams blocked off rivers, preventing fish from returning to their spawning grounds. In the last few decades, dams along major salmon routes have made efforts to correct this. The most common solution is installing fish ladders. A fish ladder, as its name suggests, is an incline covered in running water, which salmon can climb to bypass the dam.

• Regulating fishing: More and more, local and national governments have restricted salmon fishing licenses to protect weakened spawns. In some cases, tribal governments have also voluntarily foregone their legal fishing rights to preserve salmon populations.

• Managing pollution and environmental loss: Human industry frequently comes with unintended consequences for the animals around us. Besides pollution and nitrogen runoff entering our water systems, humans have altered the physical habitats salmon need to grow and spawn. The near-extinction of the beaver in North America, for example, deprived young salmon of their natural maturing ponds. As streams and rivers were cleared of trees, salmon lost the shade they need to rest and stay cool. By looking at ecosystems as an integrated whole, we can encourage a healthier environment overall.

• Combating climate change: Salmon struggle to cope with rising water temperatures and the increasing acidification of the ocean. This issue affects aquatic ecosystems around the world but is especially pronounced among salmon and trout populations. Without greater action to halt the advance of climate change, we may run out of wild seafoods as soon as 2048.

The next time you visit a cold mountain stream or order salmon at your favorite restaurant, consider the thousands of years of history shared between our species. By supporting conservation efforts and responsible fishing and farming, you can help guarantee that our children and grandchildren will be able to marvel over the salmon’s migrations, just as our ancestors did.

References

“Chinook Salmon.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Dec. 2018, www.epa.gov/salish-sea/chinook-salmon.

“Extinction.” Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/extinction.

Roach, John. “Seafood May Be Gone by 2048, Study Says.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 2 Oct. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2006/11/seafood-biodiversity/.

Robertia, Joseph. “31 Years Ago Tuesday, Kenai River Yielded Largest King Salmon Ever Caught.” Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Sept. 2016, www.adn.com/fishing/article/thirty-one-years-ago-today-kenai-river-yield-largest-king-salmon-ever-caught/2016/05/17/.

“Salmon (European & Pacific).” WWF, WWF, wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/salmon/.

Walley, Jerilyn. “Meet the 7 Species of Pacific Salmon.” South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, 31 Oct. 2017, spsseg.org/meet-the-7-species-of-pacific-salmon/.

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