Ner·ka n.  Zool. The most important salmon of Alaska (Oncorhinchus nerka), ascending in spring most rivers and lakes from Alaska to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; -- called also red salmon, redfish, blueback, and sawqui.
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  red salmon
       n 1: fatty red flesh of salmon of Pacific coast and rivers [syn:
            sockeye, sockeye salmon]
       2: small salmon with red flesh; found in rivers and tributaries
          of the northern Pacific and valued as food; adults die
          after spawning [syn: sockeye, sockeye salmon, blueback
          salmon, Onchorynchus nerka]