How to Remember the Types of Pacific Northwest Salmon Species Using the 5 Finger Method

Thiink hook finger to recall the Chinook salmon.

There are five types of Pacific Northwest salmon species: Chum, Sockeye, Coho, Chinook, and Pink Salmon. An easy mnemonic device, the five finger method, can help a person remember them all.

Things You'll Need

• 5 Fingers!

Instructions

1. Use the rhyming word thumb to remind you of the Chum salmon. Chums are the second most common salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Male Chum salmon are notable for their protruding front teeth.

2. Point your index finger and gesture forward, as though you're about to "sock" someone in the eye. This is how you remember the Sockeye. Sockeyes have elongated, parabola-shaped mouths and more gill rakers than any other Pacific Northwest salmon. It feeds almost exclusively on plankton that it rakes from the river and ocean bottom.

3. Your middle finger, or the "oh no" finger, will help you remember the Coho salmon. Because of the bright silver scales Coho develop in maturity, they are also sometimes referred to as Silver salmon.

4. Form your index finger into a hook to remember the Chinook salmon. The index finger is also your ring finger, which can help you remember the common nickname of the Chinook: King salmon.

5. The pinky finger can help you remember the Pink salmon, the most common salmon of the Pacific Northwest. Males are recognizable by the characteristic humps they develop on their backs, which is responsible for the nicknames "humpback salmon" or "humpies."

References

• Alaska Salmon:Types of Salmon