Oncorhynchus masou
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Salmoniformes
Family:	Salmonidae
Genus:	Oncorhynchus
Species:	O. masou
Binomial name
Oncorhynchus masou (Brevoort, 1856)

Oncorhynchus masou, known as the masu salmon or the cherry salmon,^[1][2] is a species of salmon found in the Western Pacific Ocean along East Asia, ranging from the Kamchatka, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, Primorsky Krai south through Korea, Taiwan and Japan). There are a number of subspecies, including Oncorhynchus masou masou (e.g. in Korea), the critically endangered, landlocked Taiwanese or Formosan salmon Oncorhynchus masou formosanus found in certain freshwater systems of Taiwan, and the masu salmon Oncorhynchus masou macrostomus in Japan. All three subspecies are sometimes collectively^{[citation needed]} referred to as the masu salmon.

On average, this salmon prefers a temperate climate, around the area of 65° N - 58° N, and in the sea, it prefers a depth range of 0 – 200 m.

Appearance[link]

A masu salmon which has reached sexual maturity has a darkened back, and the stripes on the body sides become bright red with crimson tinge to merge on the abdomen into one common longitudinal band of lighter color. It is for this reason that it was given the name Cherry Salmon.

As adults, masu salmon tend to weigh 2 to 2.5 kg and measure roughly 50 cm in length.^[3] The maximum size that can be attained by this species (which is in the region of Primorsky Krai) is 71 cm long and 9 kg in weight.

Life cycle[link]

Like other Pacific salmon, its life cycle is subdivided into marine and freshwater periods; in rivers, this species lives from 1 to 3 years and can form living fresh-water forms. The sea life cycle, depending on the age of the young, continues for 2 to 3.5 years. In the sea, the masu salmon feed intensely on crustaceans, less often on young fish. On attaining sexual maturity, in its third to seventh years of life it enters rivers to spawn. Its spawning run starts earlier than that of other salmon species.

After spawning, most passing fish die, and those that remain alive (preferentially dwarf males) participate in spawning next year, too. Emerging from the nest, the young do not roll into the sea but remain in spawning areas, in the upper reaches of rivers, and on shallows with weak currents. The young move to pools and rolls of the river core to feed on chironomid, stone fly and may fly larvae, and on air insects. The masu salmon rolls into the sea in its second, occasionally even third year of life.

Economic importance[link]

This salmon, like most others, is a highly commercial species caught in fisheries, raised for aquaculture, and sought after as a game fish. It is marketed fresh and frozen and is often eaten broiled or baked.

Subspecies and morphs[link]

• Oncorhynchus masou masou - masu salmon
  • Satsukimasu salmon ("Oncorhynchus ishikawai", synonym)
    • Iwame trout (morph, Oncorhynchus masou var. iwame)
• Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus - Biwa trout
• Oncorhynchus masou macrostomus - amago, red-spotted masu salmon
• Oncorhynchus masou formosanus - Taiwanese land-locked salmon

References[link]

v t e Salmon Groups and species Salmon Salmonidae Adriatic salmon Atlantic salmon Black Sea salmon Pacific salmon Chum salmon Chinook salmon Coho salmon Masu salmon Pink salmon Steelhead Satsukimasu salmon Sockeye salmon Taiwanese salmon Danube Salmon Sabertooth salmon Genetically modified salmon Fisheries and management Aquaculture of salmon Fly fishing bibliography Environmental issues with salmon Maine Salmon Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery Puget Sound salmon Putcher Putcher fishing Alaska salmon fishery Salmon conservation Salmon run As food Salmon (food) Cured salmon Gravlax Lohikeitto Lomi salmon Lox Poacher's Relish Rui-be Salmon burger Salmon cannery Salmon tartare Smoked salmon Images Diseases and parasites Amoebic gill disease Ceratomyxa shasta Gyrodactylus salaris Henneguya zschokkei Infectious salmon anemia virus M74 syndrome Myxobolus cerebralis Nanophyetus salmincola Salmon louse Sea louse Salmon tapeworm Sphaerothecum destruens Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae Organisations Atlantic Salmon Federation Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization Pacific Salmon Commission Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association Wild Salmon Center Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project Other Ceasg Salmon (color) Salmon of Wisdom Salmon Fishing in the Yemen The Salmon Fly