【Reading】べにざけ

【English Name】Sockeye Salmon (Red Salmon)

Benizake (sockeye salmon) is a fish of the genus Oncorhynchus of the family Salmonidae, with the scientific name Oncorhynchus nerka. It also has the alternative name "sokkai," a Japanese reading of the English name Sockeye salmon. The species epithet nerka derives from the Russian name нерка.

Its body length is roughly 50 cm, and large individuals may exceed 70 cm. During its period of marine life, its body color is silvery white, but when the spawning season arrives, both males and females change to a vivid crimson nuptial coloration. This hue is said to be the origin of its Japanese name.

The wild anadromous form is distributed in the North Pacific from the Kuril Islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula to north of the Columbia River in Washington State, USA. There is no natural distribution of the anadromous form within Japan; only the landlocked form, the himemasu (kokanee), inhabits Lake Akan and Lake Chimikeppu in eastern Hokkaido. Starting with a transplant into Lake Shikotsu in 1893, it has also been stocked in various places such as Lake Towada and Lake Chuzenji.

The benizake distributed in Japan is mostly imported from Russia and Alaska. In addition to shiozake (salt-cured products), it is also used as smoked salmon and ruibe. As a sushi neta, its strengths are its deeply crimson flesh and rich, fatty richness. Because it mainly feeds on zooplankton, the red color of the flesh is said to be due to food-derived astaxanthin.