The American Fisheries Society’s Committee on Names of Fishes has announced that the common name of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) will now be spelled with a capital letter “C.” The spelling has been changed to reflect that the name of the fish is derived from the Chinook Indian Tribe. The Chinooks are a Native American Indian tribe of the Pacific Northwest who historically ranged throughout the lower Columbia River basin in present-day Oregon and Washington. The annual return of migrating salmon represented not only a staple food source for the Chinooks, but also an important cultural and spiritual identity. The remaining Chinooks still practice sacred ceremonies heralding the return of the salmon.

The Committee on Names of Fishes is a joint committee of the American Fisheries Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. The 6th edition of their Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be released in summer 2004.