This species is listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence (EOO), large number of subpopulations, large population size, and lack of major threats. Trend over the past 10 years or three generations is uncertain but likely relatively stable, or the species may be declining but not fast enough to qualify for any of the threatened categories under Criterion A (reduction in population size). However, it should be noted that treatment at species-level masks many significant declines that are in progress and well documented.

The native habitat is in the North Pacific and the adjacent Arctic, from the Laptev Sea (the Lena River delta) and the East Siberian Sea to the Bering Strait, to the south along the Asian coast up to the rivers of the north-eastern part of the Korean Peninsula and Hokkaido Island, Japan, including the Kurils and the Komandorskiye Islands, as well as Kamchatka. In 1969, it was recorded from several specimens off south-western and north-eastern Greenland.

During ocean feeding and maturation, Pink Salmon range throughout the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea north of about 40 degrees north latitude. Populations originating from different coastal regions of the North Pacific occupy distinct ocean nursery areas. The range shifts southward for winter, northward in warmer months (Heard 1991).

Spawning occurs in most tributary rivers of north-eastern Asia (Korean Peninsula to Siberia) and in North America from California and Oregon (rare in these states) north to the Aleutian Islands and Mackenzie River delta, Arctic and Pacific drainages. Arctic populations do not appear to be self-sustaining but may be expanding and so warrant monitoring.

In the southern part of the range, the most significant runs are in streams tributary to Puget Sound. This salmon has been recorded from various streams in northern California, but spawning in California has been rarely observed and only in the lower Russian River. Many recent sightings of adults in California may be represent strays from rivers to the north (Nehlsen et al. 1991).

Since 1956, it has been an object of introduction in the White and the Barents seas, as well as in the Great Lakes and Newfoundland (Canada and United States). Off the European coast (e.g., in Iceland), it is currently fished on a commercial scale, and it is also established in the White Sea, from where it enters almost all its rivers.

This is the most abundant of the seven species of Pacific Salmon (Heard 1991. Ruggerone and Irvine 2018).

Of 2,169 stocks in British Columbia and Yukon, Slaney et al. (1996) categorized 17 as extirpated, 137 as high risk, 21 as moderate risk, 17 as special concern, 1,298 as unthreatened, and 679 as unknown status. At least two stocks in the contiguous U.S. have been extirpated (Nehlsen et al. 1991). In the Puget Sound area, stocks in the Elwha and Skokomish rivers have declined to escapements of 100 or fewer due to dam construction and habitat damage; the Dungeness River population had decreased by 90% of its historical level by 1981, due to insufficient flows and habitat degradation (Nehlsen et al. 1991).

Adults spend most of their lives (about 18 months) at sea. Spawning occurs in rivers and tributary streams, in lower tidal areas in some rivers. After juveniles emerge from gravel (in April-May), they immediately move downstream to estuary. Young fish may be found in inshore waters for several months before they move to sea (Scott and Crossman 1973). Introduced population in Great Lakes is unique in completing life cycle entirely in fresh water.

It spawns in gravel of rivers and tributary streams, generally in tidal portion or lower reaches of natal stream (generally within a few kilometres of the sea). Spawning females excavate several redds, or nests, that each may be 3 ft long and 1.5 ft deep in about 1-2 ft of water (Scott and Crossman 1973). Females cover redds after egg deposition. Oncorhynchus gorbuscha has the shortest life cycle among species of the genus, as they mature and reproduce after only two years. Therefore, there are two reproductively isolated populations that spawn in alternate even and odd years (N. Bogutskaya pers. comm. 2020).

This species relies on freshwater habitat for reproduction and egg incubation and is sensitive to disturbance to spawning habitat. This is a valuable commercial species and overfishing may pose a threat to some local populations (N. Bogutskaya pers. comm. 2020). Large scale hatchery pink salmon releases may threaten native stocks through ecological and genetic interactions (Rand et al. 2012; Amoroso et al. 2017).

This species relies on freshwater habitat for reproduction and egg incubation and is sensitive to disturbance in spawning habitat. This is a valuable commercial species and overfishing may pose a threat (N. Bogutskaya pers. comm. 2020). Large-scale hatchery pink salmon releases may threaten native stocks through ecological and genetic interactions (Rand et al. 2012; Amoroso et al. 2017).

This is a valuable commercial species. In Kamchatka, Pink Salmon makes up 80% of all salmon catches. The commercial harvest of Pink Salmon is a mainstay of fisheries of both the eastern and western North Pacific. In 2010, the total harvest was 260 million individuals, corresponding to 400,000 tonnes. Of this, 140 million individuals were from Russian fisheries and 107 million from Alaskan fisheries. Pink Salmon account for 69% of the total Russian salmon fisheries. The majority of Pink Salmon are harvested using coastal set net traps, and the fisheries are concentrated on the east coast of Sakhalin (average 110,000 tonnes per year) (North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission 2020).

Given the large distribution area of this species, it is likely to occur in multiple protected areas. It is recommended to determine genetic relationships among different spawning populations. Also, it is recommended to protect and provide adequate flows to areas where spawning is observed. See Nehlsen et al. (1991) for general management and protection recommendations for anadromous salmonids. Rand et al. (2012) discuss potential risks of large scale hatchery pink salmon releases to native anadromous salmonids.  Straying of hatchery-origin pink salmon into natural streams has been quantified in Alaska (Brenner et al. 2012, Knudsen et al. 2021), and research is underway to determine if reproductive fitness of hatchery-origin pink salmon is lower than natural-origin conspecifics (Shedd et al. 2022).  Many publications have documented competitive effects of abundant pink salmon in the North Pacific on other species of salmon and marine food webs and how hatchery supplementation may exacerbate the effects (e.g. Springer and van Vliet 2014, Batten et al. 2018, Connors et al. 2020). Understanding the impacts of broad scale hatchery production of pink salmon (and other species) across the North Pacific is an important area of research, particularly as climate effects are increasingly observed.

While focus on species-level status assessments are an important first step, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Salmon Specialist Group (SSG) emphasizes the need to characterize status of Pacific Salmon at a more granular, population-level scale (identified as “subpopulations” in the IUCN Red List Guidelines) to provide meaningful guidance to stem the loss of biodiversity across the natural range of the species. There are many examples of declines in wild Pacific Salmon in both North America and Asia, particularly in the southern portion of their range given the degree of degradation and fragmentation of habitat there and the more immediate risk of climate change impacts. At the same time, there are large-scale ocean drivers that appear to be affecting species broadly across the North Pacific, regardless of their freshwater origin. Two excellent examples exist of assessment approaches and policies in the US (Waples 1991) and Canada (DFO 2005, COSEWIC 2018) that establish an effective framework for Pacific Salmon conservation. These efforts involve identifying population units based on a variety of criteria including examination of traits that are important in the evolutionary process and future adaptation. In these examples, assessments are conducted at a more granular, population-level, resulting in listings for individual population units, with identification of needed conservation actions specific to each unit. An example of assessing range-wide status of the species and at the individual subpopulation level in the IUCN Red List now exists for Oncorhynchus nerka (Rand 2011). While the amount of effort required to rigorously assess the species is substantial, we encourage efforts like this applied to the other species in the genus.