Pacific salmon occur from California north along the Pacific coast throughout the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean waters adjacent to Alaska. The five species (Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink and Sockeye) are members of a large family of fish known as salmonidae, which are abundant throughout the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres. Pacific salmon are a shorter lived species and much more prolific breeders than Atlantic salmon.
Sockeye salmon are one of the smaller species of Pacific salmon, measuring 18 to 31 inches in length and weighing 4-15 pounds. Sea-going sockeye salmon have iridescent silver flanks, a white belly, and a metallic green-blue back, giving them their Blueback name. Sockeye salmon are found in the eastern Pacific from the Klamath river in Oregon, to Point Hope in NW Alaska with the largest populations being in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska and the Fraser river in Canada. In the western Pacific sockeye are found from the Anadyr river in Siberia to Hokkaido in Japan albeit Japan not considered by IUCN to be part of its natural range. In common with all Pacific salmon species, most sockeye salmon are anadromous and spend one to four years in fresh water and one to three years in the ocean (those sockeye that live all their lives in landlocked waterways in freshwater are called Kokanee). The typical lifespan of the sockeye is five years albeit can be three to seven years. In Alaska most sockeye return to their natal streams to spawn in June and July. The females lay a relatively small number of eggs (2000 5000) and both females and males die within a few weeks of spawning.