The fry of some species migrate directly to the ocean and others remain in fresh water for up to 2 years before beginning their migration to salt water. In many Alaskan coastal communities, pink salmon are considered Alaska's'bread and butterfish because of their importance to commercial fisheries and thus to local economies. Adult pink salmon enter Alaska spawning streams between late June and mid October, and most spawn within a few miles of the coast, commonly within the inter-tidal zone at the mouths of streams. After the eggs hatch in early to mid winter, the smelts migrate to the ocean in late winter or spring. Once in the ocean, the juvenile pink salmon move along the beaches in dense schools near the surface, feeding on plankton, larval fishes and insects.
Predation is heavy, but growth is rapid.
By fall, the juvenile salmon are 4 to 6 inches long and are moving into their feeding grounds in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands areas. When they're 2 years old, they return to spawn. Pink salmon fisheries are important in all coastal regions of Alaska south of Kotzebue Sound. Commercial canning and salting of pink salmon began in the late 1800s, but, during the 1940s and 1950s, runs declined markedly. Since then intensive efforts have been made to rebuild and enhance those runs through hatcheries, fish ladders and improved management practices.