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Pink Salmon
Habitat and Diet:
In the 1950s, pink salmon that were being raised in a Canadian
hatchery and were destined for Hudson Bay wound up in a
Lake Superior tributary (a tributary is a part of a river that
flows into a lake). They quickly spread throughout the Great
Lakes, but they especially established themselves in Lake
Huron.
Great Lakes pink salmon eat a variety of fish and other water
creatures.
Relationship to humans:
An important sport fish in the Great lakes, the pink salmon is
pursued by anglers in streams and rivers when they are ready
to spawn. They are rarely caught in the lakes. Ocean-dwelling
pink salmon are an important part of the commercial fishing
industry.
Fun/Unusual fact:
The Pink salmon gets its name from the color of it's flesh,
which is pinkish because of a diet heavy on shrimp. The male
pink salmon develop a "hump" on their backs, and carry the
name "Humpback salmon."