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Atlantic Salmon

Salmo salar

Description:

The average size of Atlantic salmon is 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) long and 8-12 pounds (3.6-5.4 kg) after two years at sea. Although uncommon, adults can grow to be as large as 30 pounds (13.6 kg). The colouration of young Atlantic salmon does not resemble their adult stage. While they live in fresh water, they have blue and red spots. While they mature, they take on a silver-blue sheen. When adult, the easiest way of identifying them is by the black spots predominantly above the lateral line, although the caudal fin is usually unspotted. When they reproduce, males take on a slight green or red colouration. The salmon has a fusiform body, and well-developed teeth. All fins, save the adipose, are bordered with black.Young salmon begin a feeding response within a few days. After the yolk sac is absorbed by the body, they begin to hunt. Juveniles start with tiny invertebrates, but as they mature, they may occasionally eat small fish. During this time, they hunt both in the substrate and in the current. Some have been known to eat salmon eggs. The most commonly eaten foods include caddisflies, blackflies, mayflies, and stoneflies. As adults, the fish feed on much larger food: Arctic squid, sand eels, amphipods, Arctic shrimp, and sometimes herring, and the fishes' size increases dramatically. Most Atlantic salmon follow an anadromous fish migration pattern, in that they undergo their greatest feeding and growth in salt water; however, adults return to spawn in native freshwater streams where the eggs hatch and juveniles grow through several distinct stages. Atlantic salmon do not require salt water. Numerous examples of fully freshwater (i.e., "landlocked") populations of the species exist throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, the landlocked strains are frequently known as ouananiche.

Habitat:

Atlantic Salmon alternate between freshwater and ocean habitats. This has to do with the salmon's unique life cycle. Depending on the location of the river that the salmon is born in, it may spend between one and four years there before it migrates to the ocean. It will stay in the ocean and feed until it is time to reproduce.

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keithp2012
Spotted by
keithp2012

Laurel Hollow, New York, USA

Spotted on Aug 22, 2012
Submitted on Aug 22, 2012

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