Do they breathe freshwater? Are they essentially different than West Coast Salmon? Do they swim from the Great Lakes into surrounding rivers/estuaries to breed?
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Pacific salmon species and the closely related trout have been introduced all over the world to create recreational and commercial fishing opportunities. Japan has a huge chum salmon hatchery system to feed a commercial salmon fishery. They’ve also been introduced in Patagonia. I know a few people who used to commercially fish for salmon on the Great Lakes out of Wisconsin. Salmon are also stocked in some other lakes for purely recreational purposes. Kokanee are a landlocked sockeye salmon that are popular for this as they are already more adapted to freshwater and sockeye are the only salmon species that spawns in lakes. Most of these aren’t reproducing populations and are re-stocked yearly just like trout. I know in Colorado there are kokanee that make runs from the reservoir up the river that feeds it. However, Im not sure if they actually spawn or not. There are also a couple lakes (probably more) that have stocked Chinook salmon.
As for the fresh vs saltwater question, all salmonids can breathe both. Salmon and steelhead spend most of their lives in the ocean as we know, but cutthroat, bull, and rainbow trout(not true steelhead) can and do make trips to saltwater. Some spend more time in the saltwater, some less, and some never go at all. Sea run cutthroat and bulltrout will go up rivers creeks and streams to feed, or to spawn, and then return to the ocean. Bulltrout in particular like to follow spawning salmon up rivers to eat eggs and spawned out adults. There are fly-fishing flies that imitate salmon eggs and flesh for this exact reason. Chinook salmon as well are known to follow spawning salmon of other species up rivers to feed, and then return to the ocean. All salmon die when spawning with the exception of Atlantic salmon, which are more closely related to trout anyways. Trout on the other hand do not die when spawning.
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