A salmon that leaves the sea each autumn to spawn up the rivers of China's far northeast, such as the Heilongjiang and Tumen. Locals salt, smoke or dry it, and salt its large orange roe.
大马哈 is a transliteration from the Tungus/Manchu word for this fish. It specifically refers to Pacific salmon species found in Northeast China (Heilongjiang river basin), rather than Atlantic salmon (三文鱼, the sushi variety).