RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-10.TIF
The Ozernaya River is full of spawning pink salmon— the most abundant—coming in from the left side of the frame, and sockeye—the most valuable—just below them.
The Kamchatka Shelf in Russia is the last safe place for salmon and the only place on Earth with seven species of oncorhynchus (derived from Greek words meaning hook nose). These photographs illustrate a story about fish that were left alone for millions of years but are now threatened.
Along the entire Pacific Rim, salmon production is down to 3 or 4 percent of historic production. Salmon transform from silver missiles in the ocean to brightly colored creatures as they make their way back up their ancestral rivers, and during spawning adult males develop a hooked nose. They stop eating, so it doesn’t matter that their mouths no longer work for food. The photo in the Ozernaya River, above, shows
- Copyright
- RANDY OLSON
- Image Size
- 6000x4000 / 130.3MB
- Keywords
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animal behavior, animal breeding and mating colors, animal color strategies, animals, close up, color image, commonwealth of independent states, fish, fishes, getty, image type, kamchatka, kamchatka peninsula, large group of animals, motion, no people, ozernaya river, photography, rivers, russia, russia (the country), salmon, salmon fish, school of fish, shallow, spawning, surface, survival, swimming, swimming animals, underwater, underwater photography, water
- Contained in galleries
- Kamchatka Salmon_ National Geographic Magazine 8/2009
