Geographical Origins of Juvenile Chum Salmon Migrating Along the Pacific Coast of Hokkaido, Japan, During Early Summer

Abstract Excerpt:
Japanese chum salmon migrate globally, from their natal river to the Gulf of Alaska via Okhotsk Sea, Northwest Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea depending on their life stage and season (Urawa 2004; Urawa et al. 2018). Irie (1990) illustrated a map showing the migration route of juvenile chum salmon along the coastal waters of northern Japan, and the map was updated by Urawa et al. (2018). On the eastern Pacific coast of Hokkaido region (off Konbumori) there was a mixed community of juvenile chum salmon from the nearest and distinct rivers
(Hasegawa et al. 2013), which was mainly composed of Pacific coast of Hokkaido and Honshu stocks (Sato et al. 2013). The present study was conducted to examine the origins of juvenile chum salmon migrating along the western and eastern Pacific coasts of Hokkaido by otolith marking and genetic stock identification analyses.