Dispatch Method:

The eating qualities of species like chinook salmon can be greatly improved by killing them humanely by iki jime or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.

Fish Description:

• Chinook salmon have a somewhat deeper body than most other Pacific salmon species.
  
• Fish from the ocean are green to dark blue dorsally, silvery to white on the flanks and belly with numerous small, dark spots, and the gums inside the lower jaw are black.
  
• On their return to fresh water on the spawning run, chinook salmon change to olive brown, bright red or purplish colours.

Fish Distribution:

• Endemic to the drainages of the northern Pacific from Alaska to California, USA, Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk.
  
• Adult fish can migrate large distances to return to their natal streams from the sea to spawn. Adults die a few days after spawning, while juveniles in freshwater usually migrate to the sea after a year or so (range 3 months to 3 years).
  
• Once at sea , some fish remain close inshore throughout their lives, but others make extensive migrations and may be found as deep as 375 meters (1200 feet).

Fish Size Common Length:

Commonly 60-90 cm (24-36 inches), maximum size around 150 cm (60 inches) and 60 kg (130 pounds).