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The Nonindigenous Occurrences section of the NAS species profiles has a new structure. The section is now dynamically updated from the NAS database to ensure that it contains the most current and accurate information. Occurrences are summarized in Table 1, alphabetically by state, with years of earliest and most recent observations, and the tally and names of drainages where the species was observed. The table contains hyperlinks to collections tables of specimens based on the states, years, and drainages selected. References to specimens that were not obtained through sighting reports and personal communications are found through the hyperlink in the Table 1 caption or through the individual specimens linked in the collections tables.

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Common name: Coho Salmon

Synonyms and Other Names: silver salmon

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Moyle (1976a); Scott and Crossman (1973); Wydoski and Whitney (1979); Morrow (1980); Eschmeyer et al. (1983); Page and Burr (1991). Dark dorsal side, bluish to greenish. Sides grayish or whitish with dark spots towards dorsal side. Faint horizontal darker stripe near where spots end. Spawning males and females take on a pinkish to reddish tone along their usually bland sides.

Size: 98 cm

Native Range: Arctic and Pacific drainages from Point Hope, Alaska, to Monterey Bay, California, infrequently as far south as Chamalu Bay, Baja California. Also in northeastern Asia (Page and Burr 1991).

Alaska	Hawaii	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	Guam Saipan

Native range data for this species provided in part by NatureServe

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Ecology: Once stocked in the Great Lakes, coho salmon grow rapidly, feeding mainly on alewife and smelt.  After less than two years in the lake they mature and begin their autumn spawning migration to the streams in which they were planted.  At this time in their life they become darker colored and the male develops a hooked jaw and a slightly humped back.  Eggs for the hatcheries are collected during the  upstream migration because there is no natural reproduction of cohos in the Lake Michigan tributaries of Wisconsin.  Thus, the stocking program is essential to maintain the salmon fishing in Lake Michigan. Great Lakes coho migrate from their natal river in search of food and due to changes in temperature. Warmer temperatures drive the fish to the deeper cooler areas of lakes, and feeding fish are also located there.

Means of Introduction: Introductions of coho salmon as sport fish began as early as the 1920s. The coho was introduced into the Great Lakes to control the alewife population (Eddy and Underhill 1974). The first stocking in the Great Lakes was in Lake Erie in 1933 by the Ohio Division of Conservation (Parsons 1973). The first large planting in the Great Lakes occurred in 1966 in Lakes Michigan and Superior. The species had been stocked in all the Great Lakes by 1970 (Parsons 1973). A total of 16 million fish had been stocked in the Great Lakes between 1966 and 1970 (Parsons 1973). Fish intentionally stocked into coastal New Hampshire in the late 1960s dispersed to Maine and Massachusetts (Stolte 1974). It was introduced into the Colorado River in 1967 (Rinne 1995). Colorado first began stocking cohos in the early 1900s (Everhart and Seaman 1971). Originally, the stock used for Colorado came from Oregon; more recently stock from Lake Michigan has been used (Everhart and Seaman 1971). Introduced into Connecticut since the late 1800s (Whitworth 1996). Most attempts to establish populations failed; therefore, stocking was discontinued.

Status: Some reproduction reported in Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Manistee River in Michigan, coastal waters of New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, Salmon River in New York, and Colorado River in Arizona. Stockings in Tennessee failed. Rinne (1994) lists coho salmon as not established in the Colorado River in Arizona. The first evidence of reproduction in the Great Lakes came in 1968 from tributaries of Lakes Michigan and Superior (Parsons 1973). Natural reproduction in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior have resulted in localized self-sustaining populations (Downs et al. 2002). There are no known established populations in Connecticut (Whitworth 1996) or Delaware (Raasch and Altemus 1991). Coho salmon are no longer stocked in Lake Erie, although strays from the other Great Lakes can still be caught occasionally (ODNR 2007).

Impact of Introduction: Coho salmon compete with native lake trout Salvelinus namaycush (Page and Laird 1993). Fausch and White (1986) found that coho salmon may compete with brook trout S. fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta for food and space in the Great Lakes if resources become scarce. Coho have an advantage over brook and brown trout because of an earlier emergence and a larger size at emergence (Fausch and White 1986).

Remarks: Coho salmon has not been stocked in Oklahoma (Pigg, personal communication). Parsons (1973) gave detailed stocking information for the Great Lakes.

Voucher specimens: Montana (USNM 104701).

References: (click for full references)

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Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI.

Bence, J.R., and K.D. Smith. 1999. An overview of recreational fisheries of the Great Lakes. In Taylor, W.W., and C.P. Ferreri (Eds.), Great Lakes Fisheries Policy and Management: A Binational Perspective. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI, pp. 259-306.

Bond, C.E. 1973. Keys to Oregon Freshwater Fishes. Oregon State University Agriculture Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 58:1-42, revised.

Bond, C.E. 1994. Keys to Oregon Freshwater Fishes. Oregon State University Bookstores, Inc., Corvallis. 58:1-42, revised.

Brown, R.W., M. Ebener, and T. Gorenflo. 1999. Great Lakes commercial fisheries: historical overview and prognosis for the future. In Great Lakes Fisheries Policy and Management: A Binational Perspective. Taylor, W.W., and C.P. Ferreri (Eds.). Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI, pp. 307-354.

Burr, B. M. 1991. The fishes of Illinois: an overview of a dynamic fauna. Proceedings of our living heritage symposium. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 34(4):417-427.

Burr, B.M. 1991. The fishes of Illinois: an overview of a dynamic fauna. Proceedings of our living heritage symposium. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 34(4):417-427.

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Burr, B.M., and M.L. Warren, Jr. 1986. A distributional atlas of Kentucky fishes. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission Scientific and Technical Series 4. 398 pp.

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Crawford, S.S. 2001. Salmonine introductions to the Laurentian Great Lakes: an historical review and evaluation of ecological effects. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 132. 205 pp.

Cudmore-Vokey, B., and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2500: v + 39 pp.

Deacon, J.E., and J.E. Williams. 1984. Annotated list of the fishes of Nevada. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 97(1):103-118.

Denoncourt, R.F., T.B. Robbins, and R. Hesser. 1975a. Recent introductions and reintroductions to the Pennsylvania fish fauna of the Susquehanna River drainage above Conowingo Dam. Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 49:57-58.

Downs, W., L. Wiland, E.A. White, and S. Wittman. 2002. Coho Salmon/Fish of the Great Lakes. University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/cohosalmon.html (Accessed 3/4/2011).

Eddy, S., and J.C. Underhill. 1974. Northern fishes, with special reference to the Upper Mississippi Valley, 3rd edition. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.

Emery, L. 1985. Review of fish introduced into the Great Lakes, 1819-1974. Great Lakes Fishery Commission Technical Report, volume 45. 31 pp.

Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald, and H. Hamann. 1983. A Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes of North America. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Everhart, W.H., and W.R. Seaman. 1971. Fishes of Colorado. Colorado Game, Fish and Parks Division, Denver, CO. 75 pp.

Everhart, W.H. 1976. Fishes of Maine. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Augusta, ME. 96 pp.

Fausch, K.D., and R.J. White. 1986. Competition among juveniles of coho salmon, brook trout, and brown trout in a laboratory stream, and implications for Great Lakes tributaries. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 115(3):363-381.

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Hartel, K.E. 1992. Non-native fishes known from Massachusetts freshwaters. Occasional Reports of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Fish Department, Cambridge, MA. 2. September. pp. 1-9.

Hartel, K.E., D.B. Halliwell, and A.E. Launer. 1996. An annotated working list of the inland fishes of Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA (Available from http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/fish/ma_fam.htm. Page accessed March 5, 1998).

Hildebrande, S.G. 1971. The effect of coho spawning on the benthic invertebrates of the Platte River, Benzie County, Michigan. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 100:61-68.

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Insider Viewpoint. 2001. Fishing Records – Nevada. Insider Viewpoint Magazine. 3 pp.

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Kendall, W.C. 1914. The Fishes of New England. The Salmon Family. Part I - the trout or charrs. Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History 8(1). 103 pp + plates.

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Other Resources:
Distribution in Illinois - Illinois Natural History Survey

Fishes of Wisconsin (Becker) - Wisconsin Sea Grant

Great Lakes Waterlife

Author: Fuller, P., J. Larson, and A. Fusaro

Peer Review Date: 6/26/2014

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.