This I don't understand-how can a fish add weight when it's stopped feeding?
Please explain.
I missed that one LOL
mr.p where do you get the idea that salmon feed once they hit freshwater? Please enlighten us.
Hump, milt and roe add weight.
Notice how the world record pinks are caught in freshwater...not salt...
I think others were not questioning that biggest pink salmon are found in freshwater, but rather your suggestion that pink salmon feed in freshwater, which is probably a misunderstanding.
Pink salmon, like all other Pacific salmon species, feed as much as they can prior to entering their natal streams. At this stage, it makes them the fattest during the entire life, so they can extract energy from their body to complete the upstream journey. During the in-river stage, no feeding occurs as the abdominal cavity space is taken up by milt sacs and eggs. As they move upstream, their body weight starts to decline steadily as that energy is being harvested from body fat.
The conspicuous hump, which is only developed in males, is what biologists call sexual dimorphism, which separates the males and females at the spawning stage and plays a role in spawning success. Similar phenomena are found in other salmon species, fang-like teeth on male chum salmon is a good example. I am not familiar with the exact physiological process of this development, but my guess would be that it is influenced by hormones.
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Topic: Pinks - Any Reports ? (Read 13815 times)