Sockeye salmon spawn in the Adams River in British Columbia, Canada

© Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Picture

Salmon migration in full swing

Found in the northern Pacific Ocean, sockeye salmon – also called red or blueback salmon – turn crimson when they return home to spawn, an incredible journey that takes them from the ocean back to the freshwater lakes and streams where they were born. The colour itself is a product of their diet, which primarily includes zooplankton. Like other Pacific salmon species, males and females both die within a few weeks after spawning.