Acoustic recordings of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) from a hatchery on Vancouver Island

Sound production in fish has been documented; however, the diversity of species that create sound is not fully understood. Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are ecologically, economically, and culturally important in the northeast Pacific. Recent declines in specific species and stocks have increased their public interest. Other species from the family Salmonidae produce sounds, but there is little evidence of any species of Pacific salmon producing sounds. Recording salmon in the wild would be difficult but local hatcheries allow for a unique opportunity to listen for salmon sounds in a semi-natural environment. Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) were recorded using two stationary acoustic recorders that were deployed at a salmon hatchery in Qualicum beach Vancouver Island, British Columbia, for three consecutive weeks in September and October 2017. Audio files were collected in 5 minute subsections and examined for salmon sounds. Here, we present spectrograms and time-frequency composition of potential sounds found for Chinook, pink, and coho salmon. All sounds were then compared to sounds produced by other soniferous fish and to the hearing range of Pacific salmon.