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Pink salmon

Quality mark Cultivation
/Keurmerk Wild
Green
Second choice
Avoid
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General

Salmonids

There are many species that belong to the Salmonids or (Protacanthopterygii). Did you know trouts, smelts, and even pikes belong to the Salmon family? Salmonids occur in either salt and freshwater. Most species are well-specialized predators and live in temperate climate zones.  Salmonids are ray-finned fishes and can be distinguished by the ‘fat-fin’ between the backfin and tail. They do not have spikes and the pelvic and pectoral fin are separated.

Salmonids are sold farmed and wildcaught. Wildcaught salmon comes from the Pacific. Almost all Atlantic salmon on sold is farmed. Since the 90s the farming of salmon increased dramatically. Norway, chile, Scotland, Canada and the Faroe islands are important farming countries for salmon. In both, wild-caught and farmed salmon problems in sustainability are prevalent.

 

 

 

Pink salmon

Pink salmon of humpback salmon is one of the five salmon species that can be found in the northern Pacific Ocean and its adjacent rivers. The distribution range of the pink salmon extends from Canada to California in the east and from Siberia to Korea in the west. The pink salmon gets on average 50 cm long and weighs 2-3 kg. Most salmon species are anadromous: they are born in fresh water (rivers) and migrate to sea where they spend most of their life. After 2 years they migrate back upstream to their birth grounds, a phenomenon called natal homing. This sometimes requires the salmon to swim for thousands of kilometres upstream. When the salmon return to their natal grounds, their appearance changes; they get a red colour with a green head and males develop elongated, crooked jaws and a bump on their back. Salmon only reproduce once in their lifetime, they die shortly after reproduction. Salmon are keystone species in the ecosystem and are a very important food source for birds, bears, otters and other wildlife.

Pink salmon

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Origin

Pacific Ocean, northeast and northwest (FAO 61; 67)

Farming- / Catch method

Gillnets, Purse seines, Pelagic longlines

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Pink salmon

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Origin

Pacific Ocean, northwest (FAO 61)

Farming- / Catch method

Gillnets, Fykes

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Fish stocks and fishing pressure
Ecosystem effects
Fishery management
Final assessment
Explanation assessment

Most pink salmonstockStock:
The fish of a particular species reproducing in the same area in the same period. 
s are healthy. However, the stock estimateStock estimate:
Estimating the number of fish of a particular species who are reproducing in the same spawning area in the same period.  
s are made with high uncertainties. It appears that some stocks are overfishedOverfished:
A stock is overfished when the stock size has decreased so far that it can no longer produce a maximum sustainable yield. The size of the fish populations is insufficient to reproduce in the long term. 
or stock sizes are not yet known.

Fishing with gillnetsGillnets:
A fishing technique whereby passing fish get caught in the meshes with their gills. The net stands vertically on the bottom or hangs on buoys in the water column. The by-catch of species such as porpoises and dolphins is a problem related to gillnets.
and fykesfykes:
A fishing technique where fish are attracted into a fyke. Fykes are pots or traps made of, for example, wire mesh.
can entangle vulnerable seabirds, whales and dolphins. The effects these methods have on the ecosystem are largely still unknown, but do not appear to have a major impact on benthic habitats and species.

The salmon fisheries in this area are managed, but information on the stockStock:
The fish of a particular species reproducing in the same area in the same period. 
s and how measures are adhered to is still insufficient. The managementManagement:
The regulations surrounding fisheries and aquaculture that ensure that production is carried out within legal frameworks and that sustainability can be assured.
of this species is partially effective.

ASC label

Fish with the ASC label is farmed in a sustainable manner.

MSC label

Fish with the MSC label is caught sustainably.

Good fish

This fish is not being overfished or is being responsibly farmed, with minimal impact on the environment.

Second choice

This fish is a second choice. There are still some improvements to be made in this fishery or fish farm.

Avoid

Do not buy this fish. It's being overfished or the way it's farmed or caught has a negative impact on the environment.

Welfare

There is fish available of this species that is farmed or caught using high welfare standards.

GlobalG.A.P.

GlobalG.A.P. certified farms are doing a step in the right direction in terms of sustainability. A few species with this label are getting a better score on the VISwijzer.

Organic

Organic standards are the strictest when it comes to fish feed. They also require certain measures for animal well-being.