Description
Potentially Misidentified Species- A stray adult of Oncorhynchus kisutch (Coho Salmon) was caught at the mouth of the Back River, a York River (VA) tributary. This fish had been stocked in the North River estuary in MA. The date of capture was not given, but was probably in the 1980's (Murdy et al. 1997).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animalia | Chordata | Osteichthyes | Salmoniformes | Salmonidae | Oncorhynchus |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Failed | Contracting | Introduced | Regular Resident | North America | Asia-North America | Fisheries(Fisheries Intentional) |
History of Spread
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Pink Salmon, or Humpback Salmon) is an anadromous (sea-running) fish, native to Arctic and Pacific drainages, where it spawns in freshwater, from the McKenzie River in the Northwestern Territories to the Sacramento drainage. It is also native to northeast Asia (Page and Burr 1991). Adult fish range across the cooler waters of the North Pacfic, occasionally as far south as La Jolla CA. This salmon was introduced outside its range in North America by the United States Fish Commission (USFC), Canadian, and state agencies following the failure of Oncorhynchus tshawytscha's (Chinook Salmon's) introduction on the Atlantic Coast. Oncorhynchus gorbuscha were believed to have greater chances of success because of their use of smaller streams and shorter freshwater residence time (Smith 1907). Oncorhynchus gorbuscha were planted in the Dennys and Pembroke Rivers in ME from 1906 to 1926, resulting in some returns of adult fish, and apparent establishment of a population. 'But natural reproduction seems not to have been successful enough for the humpback to maintain itself in the few ME rivers open to it, much less to increase in numbers; for very few have been reported since about 1926 or 1927, and none that we have heard of for some years past' (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). Populations were established in Newfoundland in 1958 and the Kola Peninsula, Russia by 1968 (Scott and Crossman 1973). However, these populations populations eventually failed (Harache 1992). Surplus fish from an unsuccessful stocking program in Hudson Bay were discarded in Lake Superior in 1956, and have spread throughout the Great Lakes (Mills et al. 1993).
In 1916, 16,000 Oncorhynchus gorbuscha fingerlings were released in the Potomac at Washington DC (Smith 1918). There is no record of this species in subsequent surveys (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Lee et al. 1981; Musick 1972a) and the introduction is presumed to have failed.
History References - Bigelow and Schroeder 1953; Harache 1992; Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Lee et al. 1981; Mills et al. 1993; Musick 1972a; Page and Burr 1991; Scott and Crossman 1973; Smith 1907; Smith 1918
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | 0.0 | 23.9 | 10.0 | 16.0 |
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 18.0 |
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-eu |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Pink Salmon) is a failed introduction to the Potomac, with no reported economic impact.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Pink Salmon) is a leading commercial and gamefish in the North Pacific and in river systems from the Sacramento to AK. It has been introduced in the Great Lakes, Newfoundland, and Kola Peninsula, Russia, but there is little information on their economic importance in their introduced range (Scott and Crossman 1973).
References- Scott and Crossman 1973
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Pink Salmon) is a failed introduction which probably had no impact on native Chesapeake Bay biota.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Pink Salmon) is a failed introduction which probably had no impact on introduced Chesapeake Bay biota.
References
Bigelow, Henry B.; Schroeder, William C. (1953) Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Fishery Bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service 53: 1-577Carlander, Kenneth D. (1969) Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Vol. 1., In: (Eds.) . , Ames. Pp.
Fuller, Pam. L.; Nico, Leo; Williams, J. D. (1999) Nonindigenous fishes introduced into inland waters of the United States, , Bethesda MD. Pp.
Harache, Yves (1992) Pacific Salmon in Atlantic Waters, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Marine Science Symposium 194: 31-55
Holliday, F. G. T. (1969) The effects of salinity on the eggs and larvae of teleosts., In: Hoar, W. S., and Randall, D. J.(Eds.) Excretion, Ionic Regulation, and Metabolism.. , New York. Pp. 293-311
Jenkins, Robert E.; Burkhead, Noel M. (1993) Freshwater fishes of Virginia., , Bethesda, MD. Pp.
Lee, David S.; Platania, S. P.; Gilbert, Carter R.; Franz, Richard; Norden, Arnold (1981) A revised list of the freshwater fishes of Maryland and Delaware, Proceedings of the Southeastern Fishes Council 3: 1-9
Murdy, Edward O.; Birdsong, Ray S.; Musick, John A. (1997) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay, , Washington, D.C.. Pp. 57-289
Musick, J. A.; Wiley, Martin L. (1972) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay and the adjacent coastal plain, Special Scientific Report, Virginia Institute of Marine Science 65: 175-212
Page, Lawrence M.; Burr, Brooks M. (1991) Freshwater Fishes., , Boston. Pp.
Scott, W. B.; Crossman, E. J. (1973) Freshwater fishes of Canada, , Ottawa. Pp.
Smith, H. M. (1918) Report on the propagation and distribution of food fishes., , Washington, D.C.. Pp. 1-111.
Smith, Hugh M. (1907) Our fish immigrants, National Geographic 18: 385-400