Sockeye Salmon Bandana

A male sockeye salmon, underwater, with the red coloration, humped back and hooked snout characteristic of spawning.

The sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), aka red salmon, is found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. Sockeyes take on a bright red coloration during spawning. Males, particularly, develop a humped back and hooked snout. Some populations, referred to as kokanee, do not migrate to the ocean and live their entire lives in fresh water.

Oncorhynchus is from the Greek ὄγκος (onkos) meaning "barb", and ῥύγχος (rhynchos) meaning "snout". Nerka is the Russian word for the anadromous form. The name "sockeye" is an anglicization of suk-kegh (sθə́qəy̓), its name in Halkomelem, the language of the indigenous people along the lower reaches of the Fraser River (one of British Columbia's many native Coast Salish languages). Suk-kegh means "red fish".