What Does “A Bind of Salmon” Mean?
“Bind” shows up again here, just as it does with eels, likely carried over from old fishing vocabulary where it described a specific bundle or quantity of fish rather than a behavior. Applied to salmon, it probably reflects how densely packed fish would be gathered, tied, or bundled after a big catch.
Salmon are famous for their anadromous life cycle: born in freshwater rivers, they migrate to the ocean to mature, then fight their way back upstream, often against powerful currents and leaping waterfalls, to spawn in the exact stream where they were born, and then, for most Pacific species, die shortly after.
Example: “The trawler hauled in a bind of salmon so heavy it nearly capsized the smaller boat alongside it.”
Other Collective Nouns for Salmon
Salmon also travel under the names a draught, a leap, a run, a school, and a shoal, more collective nouns than almost any other fish on this list. See the full Collective Nouns for Fish list.
A Few Salmon Facts
- Pacific salmon species return to spawn in the exact river, sometimes the exact stream, where they hatched, guided by scent memory.
- Most Pacific salmon die within days or weeks of spawning, their bodies becoming a critical nutrient source for the surrounding forest ecosystem.
- Salmon can leap several feet out of the water to clear waterfalls and other obstacles on their upstream migration.
Before the Run Ends…
Few animals give as much of themselves to a single journey as salmon do, and “bind” barely begins to cover it.