Pink salmon is a tasty fish, regardless of its gender. Nevertheless, it is desirable to distinguish between females and males, since the latter are somewhat fatter, and only the female will give caviar to the table. So, pink salmon: how to distinguish a female from a male and what kind of fish is it?
Biology
The named creature is the smallest of all salmon species that live in the Pacific Ocean. Usually the body length does not exceed 68 cm, and its weight is three kilograms. However, individuals weighing 5.7 kg and a body length of 76 cm were also caught. Pink salmon fish caught off the coast of the Primorsky Territory can be between 30 and 66 cm in size, but the majority of the caught specimens were 42-59 cm. And their weight could range from 1.2 kg to 2.3 kg. And, by the way, the male most often turns out to be larger. By this sign it is easy to understand, as soon as you had pink salmon in your hands, how to distinguish a female from a male.
This species is quite fast-growing - it reaches maturity by the second year, during the period when the flock lives in the Sea of Japan. The water temperature in these latitudes is about 8-11 degrees, and the fish is actively gaining weight, eating crustaceans, small squids and anchovies. With the onset of spring, she embarks on a spawning journey closer to the north.
By the beginning of summer, pink salmon schools are approaching the north of Primorye. June is the time of migrations to the pre-estuary spaces of rivers in which the fish is going to spawn. July-August - the period of the course to the coastal rivers. Pink salmon, the size of which at this time reaches its maximum value, spawns in the main channel, partially leaving caviar in the lower reaches of some tributaries.
Spawning occurs directly from August to September averages. In one clutch there can be about 1750 eggs. The grains are rather small, not exceeding 6 mm in diameter. The female lays eggs in several nests, then, after fertilization, sprinkles them with pebbles. Pink salmon fish forms an oval tuber above the nests, raking up to 35 cm of soil.
For several days (sometimes up to a week), the female guards her masonry, not allowing anyone to lay eggs nearby. After that, losing power from hunger, she dies and is flowing. However, the males, who also die after spawning, are no longer lucky.
Embryos appear after 3-4 months, remaining in their nests until spring. Larvae feed on the reserves of their yolk sacs. Incidentally, even experts do not know how to distinguish a female from a male in the "infant" age.
By early May, embryos go into the river and are carried by the current. Having gone to sea, the fry still feed on crustaceans for about 30 days in shallow waters. After that, the flocks go to the Sea of Japan in order to return to their native rivers one and a half years later, closing the circle. It is interesting that of all salmon in the Pacific region, pink salmon are the most susceptible to homing.
Geography
Fish enters the Primorsky rivers from Peter the Great Bay to the northern regions, where it is much more common. In the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the habitat is almost as vast as that of chum salmon.
Fishing
Pink salmon occupies the first place among the Pacific region (how to distinguish a female from a male does not matter here). The Primorsky herd is subject to interannual fluctuations; it is rather small, which is not very similar to Kamchatka and Sakhalin herds.
The catch in the coastal region in the years of the largest number amounted to 10 thousand, in the period of lesser - only about two thousand. Today, the catch of pink salmon is very uneven - from 20 to 207 tons. For fishing use fixed and casting net. Fish is mainly sold in fresh-frozen and salted form. It is used for canning and obtaining caviar. In the habitats, it is sold fresh, and you can cook its caviar yourself.
External differences
It is often necessary to determine who is on the counter - male or female (we are still considering pink salmon). The female and the male, the difference in the size of which is striking, are not always not exactly like this. The fact is that in some regions males, although larger than females, still significantly lose to similar ones, but from other regions.
The color of the females is inconspicuous, sulfur, their outlines are smoother, while the male pink salmon has a rough and bright appearance.
A reliable way is to compare heads. The jaws of the male are elongated, elongated and bent up. It has the appearance of a predator. The female has a more rounded head with a blunt nose. In addition, the female fin is longer.
The easiest option for determining sex is a fish that has spawned. After entering the river, the male changes his body shape. A hump forms on the back, from which the name of the fish originated. Females do not change their "figure".
