Pink: The most widely available salmon, known for its light pink color, mild flavor, and low fat content; these are the smallest Pacific salmon, and are often canned and sold. Because they develop a hump on their backs when they spawn, pink salmon are also known as "humpies" or humpback salmon. Its roe is the most valued of the five varieties, because of its size and flavor. After being strained and separated, the eggs make particularly good ikura — the fat, bright-orange pearls familiar in sushi rolls. (In Japan, salmon roe is known as ikura (イクラ))
The smallest of BC's Pacific salmon, Pink salmon are also populous and the least vulnerable to extinction. They weigh from three to eleven pounds, and measure 18 to 24 inches long. They exhibit the least dependence on freshwater, starting immediately for the ocean upon emerging from their redds (redds are the nests where salmon get their start). Because of their small size, they are especially likely to travel in schools for protection. Pink salmon have the shortest lifespans of Pacific salmon: two years. They return to freshwater to spawn either in even or odd years; those that return in even years are genetically distinct from those returning in odd years. Pink salmon don't just have to deal with the regular slew of Pacific salmon predators; they also get eaten by Coho salmon and Cutthroat trout! Nicknames:
Humpies or Humpback salmon

Cooking Pink salmon

Cooked properly, a pink salmon (aka humpy) is delicious. Using the Fish seasoning recipe in the SALMON COOKBOOK, and cooked in a hot, cast-iron skillet or over charcoal you will with great results. You can also bake pink salmon fillets with lemon butter and herbs.

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