I was recently on a cruise with my family that included a stop in Skagway, Alaska. For various reasons, I ended up on my own for the afternoon while the rest of the group went on excursions.
I found myself beside a stream running along a hiking trail. Pink salmon were spawning in the water, and I was content to sit and watch them. While I was there, a teacher from the local school arrived, hoping to capture videos and photos of the spawning salmon for his class. School was set to begin in a week.
I spent about an hour with him and his assistant, working to record video for his curriculum. The following video includes some of that footage. This was also my very first time using my GoPro underwater, and I was very pleased with the results.
The first section of the video shows footage from that afternoon with the teacher. The second section features Chum salmon building a redd in a stream in Ketchikan, Alaska, and the final section captures Chinook salmon attempting to pass a small dam in Ontario.
If you look closely in the second section with the Chum salmon, you’ll notice small salmon (parr) swimming around and salmon eggs drifting by.
Pink salmon males are identified by their pronounced humpback, hooked jaw (kype), and large teeth, which develop during spawning.