David Hall's Encounters in the Sea Photography

Salmon

Like other species of Pacific salmon, sockeye must return to the stream in which they were hatched in order to spawn. This requires an arduous journey often hundreds of miles long battling the current of a major river, as well as manmade impediments such as dams and animal predators such as raccoons, bears and ospreys. During the journey, sockeye undergo extensive anatomic and metabolic changes, triggered by their entrance into fresh water. Silvery blue in the ocean, the fish become bright red with yellow-green faces; males develop hooked teeth and a hooked upper jaw, as well as a humped back. The relatively few fish that complete the journey have the opportunity to reproduce, soon after which they die. Their decomposing bodies are eaten by a variety of organisms and, in the end, provide nourishment for the surrounding forest.

Sockeye male at Dusk	Sockeye at Dusk	Sockeye at Night
Sockeye Males	Male Sockeye	Sockeye Males
Sockeye in a shallow stream	Sockeye in a shallow stream	Sockeye in a shallow stream
Sockeye in a shallow stream	Sockeye Males	Sockeye in a small stream
Chinook & Sockeye Salmon	Chinook & Sockeye Salmon	Chinook & Sockeye Salmon
Sockeye Males Fighting	Sockeye Males Fighting	Photographing Salmon
Sockeye in a River	Sockeye in a River	Sockeye in a River
Sockeye at Night	Sockeye at Night	Sockeye at Night
Sockeye at Night	Sockeye at Night	Sockeye at Night
Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye at Dusk British Columbia	Sockeye in a Stream British Columbia
Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia	Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia	Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia
Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia	Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia	Sockeye in Freshwater Stream British Columbia
Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye and Chinook Salmon British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia
Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia
Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia
Sockeye at Dusk British Columbia	Sockeye at Dusk British Columbia	Sockeye in a River British Columbia
Chinook with Sockeye British Columbia	Sockeye in a Stream British Columbia	Chinook Salmon British Columbia