Salmon

Salmon #1

acrylic on canvas, 2011
10 x 10

Salmon Run

acrylic on canvas, 2012
8 x 8

Wild Salmon

acrylic on canvas, 2014
10 x 10

Salmon

There are five species of North Pacific native salmon in the genus Oncorhynchus. These species are commonly called the Chinook, coho, pink, chum and sockeye. They are all considered to be anadromous, meaning that they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce. They may travel thousands of miles in the ocean and are able to return to their natal stream by the use of sensing Earth’s magnetic fields (like migrating birds) to find their way. Then they use their acute sense of smell to swim upstream – taking each fork as it comes – to the place where they hatched. All the North Pacific salmon die after spawning – providing food for predators or decomposing to release their nutrients into the stream or surrounding terrestrial area.