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Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #239

Brought to you by a marine biologist who is seeing double...

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On May 22, 2020, I made a determination that is now biting me in the ass. I said that I would say that ACNH's Cherry Salmon was particularly the amago salmon, and uh...guess what we're covering today?

That's right...the *actual* Amago Salmon from ACPC!

Now, I have excuses for myself - 1) When I started this series in 2020, I didn't think I was going to cover anything more than what was in ACNH. But people commenting, reblogging, enjoying, and befriending me through this series made me continue. So, thank you. 2) The Amago salmon was only just released in fall of 2023, so...I can cut myself some slack.

So, I'll backtrack, and say the Cherry Salmon in ACNH is probably Oncorhynchus masou masou, the regular, sea-run variety that has land-locked populations also. The Amago Salmon is still a type of Cherry Salmon, but it is a subspecies, Oncorhynchus masou macrostomus.

You'll notice in the picture below that this fish has red spots on the sides, just as it does on the ACPC icon. The attention to detail, even in these ACPC sprites continues to astound me! These guys also go out to sea and have populations that stay in rivers all year long just like the regular cherry. However, this subspecies is endemic to western Japan, meaning that's the only place they are found in the world.

Let me get this out there right now - there are other subspecies and morphs of the cherry salmon. One of them, the Satsuki Trout, is also sometimes called the Amago, and honestly, I can't tell you which subspecies they were going for. It is most likely O. m. macrostomus, but I'll say nothing for sure ever again. So, there.

Now, we covered a lot about salmonids already when I did entries for...jeez...the Cherry Salmon, just "Salmon", King Salmon, Golden Trout, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, Stringfish, and Char. All of these animals are within the family Salmonidae, a relatively "primitive" group that have their pelvic fins set way back on the body and the presence of an adipose fin, which looks like a second dorsal fin, but it's actually a fleshy fin fold and no one can agree with what it's for. The group contains all manner of salmons, trouts, char, graylings, and others, all of which are mid-level predators native to the subarctic and temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Sub-speciation in this group is fairly widespread, and Animal Crossing doesn't mind dedicating Critterpedia space to them. Not only is today's Amago a subspecies of the Cherry Salmon, but the Golden Trout is also just a subspecies of Rainbow Trout. This is a lot of attention to just one group of fish!

So, why? Why does AC do this?

Well...salmon are important to humans in all kinds of ways. If you look for seafood, especially in the US, salmon is everywhere. In the US, salmon is ubiquitous with seafood, and any restaurant selling seafood better have salmon on the menu, as it's in such high demand. Same goes for sushi restaurants. Just from my job, I can't think of any other group of fish that has so completely taken over the seafood industry since Cod. Aquaculture across the world is dedicated to farming salmon (usually Atlantic salmon, not these Pacific varieties AC is meticulously going through) to reach this demand.

Salmon is often given as one of the first, main examples of a "healthy" choice for a "healthy" diet. It's cited as being a great source of omega 3s and all that. Though, like...so are many other fish...the marketing of salmon is too powerful.

Besides seafood, salmon are important culturally, whether it's because of the impressive, clockwork way they return to their natal spawning grounds, or because they are considered sport fish. Some of these species, like the King/Chinook, are absolutely massive. People all around the Northern Hemisphere make their living off salmon somehow.

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?