The number of salmonid taxa within some genera (e.g. Salmo, Salvelinus, and Coregonus) listed in various taxonomic databases (e.g. Fishbase or Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes) has increased very rapidly over the past 15-20 years. Many of these taxa are not widely accepted across the international community and are associated with very sparse data, leading to significant difficulty in accurately carrying out Red List assessments. The SSG strongly recommends a rigorous evaluation of the validity of these species designations, which can have real implications where legal protection is reflected by the use of these binomial taxonomic names.

This species is assessed as Least Concern in view of its fairly large range and population size, and lack of major widespread threats.

In North America this species occurs from the Cook Inlet on the south coast of Alaska to Oliktok Point on the Arctic coast, including the Yukon River as far upstream as Dawson, Yukon Territory (Edge 1991), the Porcupine River, the mouth of Ship Creek (Knik Arm) at Anchorage, Tolugak Lake in Anaktuvuk Pass in Brooks Range, and Kenai River. The main part of its range is along the west coast from Bristol Bay in the south to the river Colville in the north. It has been recorded in the very north-east of Chukotka, Russia, in a few small rivers of the Bering Strait, and has been confirmed in the Chegitun and Uttiveyem rivers, including the Inchoun lagoon. These records may be based on migrants from Alaska as no spawning populations have been reported for Asia (Morales et al. 1993).

This fish is regarded as common and is represented by a fairly large number of subpopulations. The total adult population size is unknown but presumably exceeds 10,000 (Page and Burr 2011). Trends over the past three generations, which roughly corresponds to 21 years, are uncertain but probably relatively stable. In Chukotka, Russia, there are little population data available, but it has been recorded forming small aggregations in the Chegitun and Uttiveyem river basins in autumn (Chereshnev 2008).

This species occurs in large rivers, lakes, and brackish water. It is anadromous but landlocked forms exist (Page and Burr 2011). Most individuals apparently winter in salt or brackish water near river mouths, but some may spend winter in freshwater far from the sea. Spawning probably occurs in clear-water streams tributary to major rivers. In Russia its habitat and ecology is poorly known. Individuals caught in brackish lagoons of the Chegitun River in late July and early August turned out to be mature fishes actively feeding on small marine crustaceans (Chereshnev 2008).

There are no known major threats to this species.

This species is of value in subsistence and commercial fisheries.

Currently, this species is of relatively low conservation concern and does not require significant additional protection or major management or monitoring action. In Russia this species is poorly understood and may benefit from additional research into its distribution, population and ecology.