A Good Year for Pinks
Pink Salmon Head
We took a stroll down to Puntledge Park in Courtenay the other day, to see the salmon in action. All seemed quiet at first, then with a sudden splash we spotted a salmon, swimming up through the riffles of the stream. The salmon spawn is a beautiful thing, and reminder of the natural cycles of life and death that we are all a part of. Along river’s edge, we found a freshly deceased male pink salmon, and admired the colours and markings of the fish up close. The pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) is the smallest and most abundant of the five species of Pacific salmon. Pinks weigh between 1.0-3.3 kg, and are 45-55 cm long. A key identification feature is the tail, which has tiny scales that have no silver, and distinctively large oval spots. Continue reading »
