Identification

• The Atlantic salmon can grow to be as large as 4.5 feet in length, with the world record fish weighing 79 lbs., according to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes. Most are much smaller, with the average somewhere in the 7 to 12 lb. range. The ocean-going salmon are silver and white, but those that re-enter freshwater have a more yellowish-brown tint to them. The forked tail of an Atlantic salmon easily distinguishes the fish from similar looking species in freshwater such as brown trout.
  
  

Life Cycle

• The salmon starts its life in the form of an egg, laid in the fall by the female salmon. The egg overwinters in the gravel of a river or stream and then hatches in the spring, with the small fish, called fry, staying close to this area as they eat and grow. The Atlantic salmon remains in freshwater for as long as five years, eating and growing into what biologists term a smolt, but most are able to start their journey to the ocean within two or three years after birth. Once in the Atlantic, the adult fish school together and head to feeding grounds located near Iceland and Greenland. The adults go back to their freshwater haunts to reproduce after a period of as long as three years.
  
  

Geography

• The geographic range of the Atlantic salmon includes the rivers of New England, eastern portions of Canada, the European nation of Iceland and much of northern Europe bordering the Atlantic. The construction of dams became a major threat to Atlantic salmon populations, as this prevented the fish from reaching their spawning grounds. Some Atlantic salmon will remain in lakes, even though a way to make it to the sea does exist. These fish are land-locked salmon.
  
  

Restoring Salmon

• The reintroduction of Atlantic salmon into their native waters is an important process to restore the species to its former populations. According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service website, conservation efforts include raising salmon in hatcheries, stocking the younger salmon in rivers and streams, catching spawning salmon to have access to their eggs and helping fish bypass dams with fish ladders.
  
  

Considerations

• The young Atlantic salmon undergo important physiological changes in freshwater that allow them to withstand the salinity of the ocean. Atlantic salmon do not always die after spawning, as is the case with the Pacific types, and many adults can return to the ocean. Once the fish has entered the freshwater from the ocean, it does not need to eat, as it lives off fat for as long as one year. Theories suggest that the salmon finds its way back to its original home by using the sun or magnetic fields to locate the specific river from which it emerged. Atlantic salmon have predators in the marine ecosystem such as seals and much larger fish.