The life of an Atlantic salmon

Every year adult Atlantic salmon leave the rich feeding grounds of the north Atlantic Ocean and attempt to return to their natal streams where they spent the first three years of their lives.  Few of the streams and rivers are free flowing and the returning salmon must get assistance from groups like ours.  We have negotiated upstream passage for returning salmon with licensed dam owners and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  

Salmon are careful about selecting their redds, places where the females will lay her eggs, and often times will return to the previous year's redd if it has not been destroyed by spring floods or some activity by humans.  The female lays her eggs and the male will follow with milt, sperm.  They then cover the fertilized eggs with surrounding gravel to provide protection from predators.   

The eggs hatch into alevin which live off the nutrients of their egg sacks for about four weeks.  Once the egg sac is absorbed the minnow-sized fry is on its own for as much as ten months to search for food.  About 12 months after hatching the young salmon enters the parr stage.  It's about three inches long and is now developing spots and vertical bands which help to camoflauge it from predators.   Over the next two to three years the parr develop to smolt.  At this stage they are about six inches long and take on the silver look of the adults.  Smolt start to migrate towards the ocean waters and become acclimated to the saltwater.