•Circulating IGFBP-1b is a negative index of growth for juvenile chum salmon.•Growth status of juveniles in wild was assessed using IGFBP-1b and IGF-I.•The use of multiple indices may stabilize growth evaluation in the field. This study aimed to utilize circulating insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-1b as a negative index of growth to evaluate the growth status of juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in the ocean. First, rearing experiments using PIT-tagged juveniles were conducted to examine the relationship of circulating IGFBP-1b with growth rate of the fish in May and in June. The serum IGFBP-1b level negatively correlated with fish growth rate in both months, suggesting its utility as a negative index of growth. Next, the growth status of out-migrating juveniles in northeastern Hokkaido, Japan, was monitored for 3 years using the growth indices. Serum levels of IGF-I, a positive index of growth, in fish collected from the nearshore zone were low in May and high in June of all years. Levels of serum IGFBP-1b showed a trend opposite to that of serum IGF-I. However, the IGF-I/IGFBP-1b molar ratios well reflected the seasonal and regional trends. These findings suggest that the juveniles in June left the nearshore area under better growth conditions. The present study also suggests that the use of multiple growth indices would improve the sensitivity and accuracy to evaluate the current growth status of out-migrating juvenile chum salmon.