Information on Wild Alaska Salmon Skin and Flesh Color
Chum Salmon
Chum salmon are often categorized as bright, semi-bright and dark according to skin coloration. This category grading may vary by company, market requirements and buyer's specifications. The categories are usually agreed upon by buyer and seller at the time the product is sold.
This guide depicts color changes in fresh chum salmon. Please note that changes in skin color may occur after freezing.
Slight differences in color may also be attributable to the geographic region in which the fish was caught.
This guide documents skin color, not meat color.
Bright chums are a dark metallic greenish-blue becoming silver on the sides and belly at the time of catch. Fine, pale bars may be present. Semi-bright chums begin to show darker bars on the sides, and the skin and back begin to dull.
Dark chums have well developed dark bars on the sides which have become a deep red. The bars on the male are vertical and may extend from the belly to the back, while the female may have a single broad stripe running horizontally from the gill plate to the tail.
Alaska Range: Southeastern Alaska to the Artic Ocean
Fishing methods: Gillnet, seine
Quantity: Chum salmon average 15.3% by fish of the annual Alaska salmon harvest; 17.6% by weight of the annual Alaska salmon harvest.
Chum salmon grow to be 25 to 27 inches long and usually range from 6 to 18 pounds, although the record fish weighed 33 pounds and was slightly more than 36 inches in length. Females are usually smaller than males.
