Types of Fish
The Coho salmon is an anadromous species meaning it returns to rivers to spawn at the end of its life. When in the ocean the are silver with black spots on their back. A key differentiating feature between the coho and a chinook are their gums, the coho's lower gums are a lighter almost white pigment. The Coho have black spots along their back and only the upper region of their tail. When they reach 3-4 years of age they become ready to spawn, changing from their silver colour to a deep red, the males develop a larger hooked nose to help with fighting and dominance.
The Chinook is the Largest species of Pacific salmon. going by a variety of names but the main 3 on the Island of Vancouver are Chinook, Tyee and Spring salmon. Like the Coho the Chinook is a anadromous species meaning it returns to the rivers to spawn. The Chinook have a black gum line, and Black spots along their back and cover their tail fully Chinook spend up 1 to 3 years of their life in the ocean (averaging about 3-4) before returning to the river to spawn. The female chinook take on a deeper more olive-bronze colour compared to their ocean phase. The males like the coho develop a large hooked nose but less predominant compared to a cohos
The sockeye is anadromous salmon species. The sockeye salmon is silver like the coho and chinook but has larger scales and eyes. Sockeye do not have spots along their back or tail, and have a white mouth with white gums. They spend up to 1-4 years in the ocean before returning to the rivers to spawn. Similarly to the coho and chinook this salmon turns red when ready to breed but they develop a larger back, making them easier to differentiate from the other salmon in the river.
The pink salmon is and anadromous salmon species, it is the smallest and most abundant pacific salmon. It's identifying features are its white mouth with black gums and almost no teeth. Like the chinook the pink have black spots along their back, other than size the difference between pink and chinook can also be identified through their tails, both with V-shaped tails but the chinooks will have a silvery colouring while pinks will not. The pink have a shorter life span only living for 2 years spending apx 18months in ocean. When returning to spawn they turn dark in colour almost green/ black and develop a large hump nicknamed "humpies"
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Halibut
Like most species of salmons the chum is an anadromous species, they leave the rivers almost immediately for the ocean after hatching, spending little of their life in fresh water, the commonly live up to 3-5 years. Chum are also called dog salmon due to them being very strong fighters, and their large canine like teeth. Their identifying features are the faint vertical bars along their silver body, they have no spots on their body, they also have a white mouth and their tongue can appear black, with large teeth. Chum are usually later arriving when time to spawn compared to other salmon. Like the other salmon they can develop the hooked snout when spawning but turning more of a green colour with tiger like red strips along their belly
Halibut are a demersal fish (bottom-dweller) also a type of flat fish in within the family of the right eye flounder. The halibut can live anywhere from 50-60 years but it is rare to find Pacific halibut over 30. The upper side of the halibut is a marbled brown with gray, their "blind side" is white. Halibut spend their whole life in the ocean and never go into fresh water, when they are ready to spawn they go to deep ocean waters, commonly near the edge of a continental shelf.
Lingcod are also a demersal fish, spending their life along/near the ocean bottom. Unlike halibut which can be more commonly found in deep water, lingcod hang around the shoreline to the edge of the continental shelf. Like halibut they can be considered ambush predators waiting along the bottom for food to swim by. When time to reproduce the males move to more rocky territory. The ling cod have a mottled brown to grey colouring from their body fading to white along the belly.
Their are over 35 species of rockfish, they are commonly found along rocky reefs. Rock fish are separated into 3 categories, Inshore benthic species, Midwater species, and Deep benthic species. The varying species have a range of colours, a consistent feature amongst most of the rock fish is their spiny dorsal fin.