Silver Salmon by Josh
Silver salmon, also called "coho"
salmon can weigh from 8 to 12 pounds. I have caught them here
in Valdez that were bigger than that. Prize winning silvers here
can reach 17 to 18 pounds or even more.
Silver salmon are sometimes confused with small king salmon. Silver salmon have large half spotted tails, gray gums, and silver markings. They lay up to one thousand eggs at a time but only about fifty of the young salmon survive to lay their own eggs. Eggs can be eaten by birds, young salmon are eaten by other fish and adult salmon can be eaten by bears, killer whales, seals and sea lions, and caught by fishermen.
Silver salmon are the fisheries' most valuable fish. They don't have ears, but instead they hear low frequency sound waves that vibrate though the water to a row of sensory pores.
Silvers eat worms, small fish,
and bits of vegetation. They are found in Alaska rivers and streams
and all along the coast of Alaska in the Pacific Ocean.
This is not a real salmon. It is a model. It was purchased through a fund raising project by students in classes of Mr. Peter Austad and Mr. Ken Neslund.
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