Description
Potentially Misidentified Species- A stray adult of Oncorhynchus kisutch (Coho Salmon) was caught at the mouth of the Back River, a York River (VA) tributary. This fish had been stocked in the North River estuary in MA. The date of capture was not given, but was probably in the 1980's (Murdy et al. 1997).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animalia | Chordata | Osteichthyes | Salmoniformes | Salmonidae | Oncorhynchus |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876 | Failed | Contracting | Introduced | Regular Resident | North America | Asia-North America | Fisheries(Fisheries Intentional) |
History of Spread
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Chinook Salmon) is native to: 'Arctic and Pacific drainages; Cape Hope AK to Ventura Bay CA. Also in N.E. Asia' (Page and Burr 1991). Adults range throughout cooler waters of the north Pacfic. This salmon was widely introduced n North America, outside its native range , largely unsuccessfully, by the United States Fish Commission and state agencies. In 1873-1880, it was shipped to 26 states, including such unlikely places as AL, GA, LA, NC, RI, SC, TX, and UT (Smiley 1884a) and the 'Sandwich Islands' (Hawaii) (Smiley 1884a). 'In past years, experiments have been made on a rather extensive scale to acclimatize the Chinook Salmon on the Atlantic coast. No results appeared to have followed these efforts' (Bowers 1906). Establishment of O. tshawytscha in the Great Lakes did not occurr until the 1960s: 'After early, unsuccessful stocking, extensive stocking in the Great Lakes from 1967 onwards has established a sport-fishery, with some natural reproduction' (Mills et al. 1993). Introductions were also made in Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Only the New Zealand stocking was successful (Scott and Crossman 1973).
In 1872-1880, 3,264,000 fish were introduced in MD, 1,270,000 in VA, and 2,440,000 in PA (Smiley 1884a). Stockings continued to 1900 in VA (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993) and at least to 1897 in MD (Ravenel 1898). Additional fish (273,000 in 1877; 312,000 in 1879; 166,000 in 1889) were planted by the MD state Fish Commission (Ferguson 1877; Ferguson 1880; Ferguson 1881). Exact totals are hard to determine, but ~5-10 million fish were stocked in the Chesapeake watershed over the 27 years that stocking continued. Some juveniles were seen in the lower James and other estuaries, but no adults returned in VA (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993). A few returned adults were caught in the Delaware Estuary (Raasch and Altemus 1991). Summer temperatures, and probably dissolved oxygen and turbidity were probably well outside this species' tolerance range. The list of stockings below is not complete, but does give an idea of the scale of the attempted introduction.
James River - Many plantings (20 in 1873-1880) occurred in tributary streams in the mountains and Piedmont, in batches of 3,000 to 92,000 fish per tributary (Smiley 1884a).
Rappahannock - Three plantings of 10,000-40,000 fish were made in upland tributaries in 1873-1880 (Smiley 1884a).
Potomac River - Sixty+ plantings of 1,000-72,000 fish were made in Piedmont and Mountain tributaries in 1873-1880; 49,000 fish were stocked in Cabin John Run in 1897 (Ravenel 1898).
Patuxent River- Seventeen plantings of 500-75,000 fish in 1874-1880 were made in Coastal Plain and Piedmont tributaries (Smiley 1884a).
Susquehanna River- Fifty-seven+ plantings were done in PA and MD tributaries, of 1,000-78,000 fish (Smiley 1884a).
Upper Bay and Tributaries- Fifty-two stockings were done in the Patapsco, Gunpowder, Bush, and other tributaries, of 1,000-30,000 fish during 1874-1880 (Smiley 1884a).
Eastern Shore Tributaries - Twenty-four stockings, of 1,000-72,500 fish were made in the Choptank, Blackwater, Nanticoke, Wicomico, Pocomoke Rivers, and others from 1876-1880 (Smiley 1884a).
Delaware River - 1,954,629 fish were stocked in 1873-1880, and a few returned adults caught, but stocking was abandoned. In the early 1990s, NJ was considering renewed stocking of O. tshawytscha and O. kisutch (Coho Salmon) in the Delaware River (Raasch and Altemus 1991).
History References - Bowers 1906; Ferguson 1877; Ferguson 1880; Ferguson 1881; Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Mills et al. 1993; Page and Burr 1991; Raasch and Altemus 1991; Ravenel 1898; Scott and Crossman 1973; Smiley 1884a
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | 0.0 | 25.1 | ||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-poly |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Chinook Salmon) is a failed introduction which probably had no impact on Chesapeake Bay fisheries. However, the stocking of several million fish over ~30 years, by state and federal agencies, in the 19th century, doubtless represented a substantial expenditure for that time.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Chinook Salmon) is a leading commercial and gamefish in the North Pacific and in river systems from Sacramento to AK (Scott and Crossman 1973), and is an important sport fish in the Great Lakes where introduced (Mills et al. 1993). An important sport and commercial fishery exists in New Zealand (Lever 1996), but few other introductions have succeeded.
References - Mills et al. 1993; Lever 1996; Scott and Crossman 1973.
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Chinook Salmon) is a failed introduction which probably had little or no impact on native Chesapeake Bay biota.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Chinook Salmon) is a failed introduction which probably had little or no impact on introduced Chesapeake Bay biota.
References
Bean, Tarleton H. (1893) The fishes of Pennsylvania, In: (Eds.) . , Harrisburg PA. Pp.Carlander, Kenneth D. (1969) Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Vol. 1., In: (Eds.) . , Ames. Pp.
Cope, Edward Drinker (1879) The Fishes of Pennsylvania, In: (Eds.) Report of the State Commisioners of Fisheries. , Harrisburg. Pp.
Ferguson, T. B. (1877) Report of a Commisioner of Fisheries of Maryland, January 1877, In: (Eds.) . , Annapolis, MD. Pp.
Ferguson, T. B. (1880) Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of Maryland, January 1880, In: (Eds.) . , Annapolis. Pp.
Ferguson, T. B. (1881) Report of a Commissioner of Fisheries of Maryland, January 1881, In: (Eds.) . , Hagerstown, MD. Pp.
Fuller, Pam. L.; Nico, Leo; Williams, J. D. (1999) Nonindigenous fishes introduced into inland waters of the United States, , Bethesda MD. Pp.
Jenkins, Robert E.; Burkhead, Noel M. (1993) Freshwater fishes of Virginia., , Bethesda, MD. Pp.
Lee, David S.; Platania, S. P.; Gilbert, Carter R.; Franz, Richard; Norden, Arnold (1981) A revised list of the freshwater fishes of Maryland and Delaware, Proceedings of the Southeastern Fishes Council 3: 1-9
Murdy, Edward O.; Birdsong, Ray S.; Musick, John A. (1997) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay, , Washington, D.C.. Pp. 57-289
Musick, J. A.; Wiley, Martin L. (1972) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay and the adjacent coastal plain, Special Scientific Report, Virginia Institute of Marine Science 65: 175-212
Page, Lawrence M.; Burr, Brooks M. (1991) Freshwater Fishes., , Boston. Pp.
Raasch, Maynard S.; Altemus, Vaughn L., Sr. (1991) Delaware's freshwater and brackish water fishes: a popular account, , Wilmingotn, Delaware. Pp.
Ravenel, W. De C. (1898) Report of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries for 1897, , Washington, D. C.. Pp.
Scott, W. B.; Crossman, E. J. (1973) Freshwater fishes of Canada, , Ottawa. Pp.
Smiley, Charles W. (1884) A statistical review of the production and distribution to public waters of young fish, by the United States Fish Commission, from its organization, to the close of 1880., Report of the United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries for 1881 :
Smith, Hugh M. (1907) Our fish immigrants, National Geographic 18: 385-400