Factors Affecting the Migration of Juvenile Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) from the Coast of Hokkaido to the Okhotsk Sea

Abstract Excerpt:
Japanese juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) migrate from coastal waters to the Okhotsk Sea during late spring/early summer. The Oyashio current flows southwestward off the Pacific coast of Hokkaido, while the Tsushima warm current flows northward off the Japan Sea coast (Fig. 1a). Thus, the migration direction of juvenile chum salmon is along the current off the Japan Sea coast, but opposite the current off the Pacific coast. In this study, factors affecting the migration of juvenile chum salmon from the Japan Sea coast and the east Pacific coast of Hokkaido to the Okhotsk Sea were investigated using a juvenile salmon migration model.