Skip to main content 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

## Utility (Top) navigation

-  About Us   **Forward **Back-  About Us
-  Mission & Vision
-  Leadership
-  Our Organization
-  Our Facilities
-  Regions

-  Laws & Regulations   **Forward **Back-  Laws & Regulations
-  Laws, Agreements & Treaties
-  Hunting Regulations

-  Library   **Forward **Back-  Library
-  Categories
-  Collections

                          -   Home 
                          -   Services   **Forward **Back-   Services 
-   Duck Stamps   **Forward **Back-   Duck Stamps 
-   Buy a Duck Stamp or E-Stamp 
-   Buy a Junior Duck Stamp 

-   Fish Stocking 
-   Importing & Exporting 
-   Consultation & Technical Assistance   **Forward **Back-   Consultation & Technical Assistance 
-   ESA Section 7 Consultation 
-   Habitat Conservation Planning (HCPs) 
-   Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA & CCAA) 
-   Safe Harbour Agreements (SHA) 
-   Conservation Banking 
-   Coastal Barrier Resources Act Project Consultation 
-   Coastal Barrier Resources System Property Documentation 

-   Financial Assistance 
-   Species Management 
-   Investigational New Animal Drugs (INADS) 
-   Permits 
-   Search All Services 
Duck StampsOne of the easiest ways that anyone can support bird habitat conservation is by buying duck stamps.
                          -   Species   **Forward **Back-   Species 
-   Explore Taxonomic Tree 
-   Find a Species 
Interest storyBats: “The Coolest Mammals on Earth”
                          -   Visit Us   **Forward **Back-   Visit Us 
-   Events 
-   Recreation Passes 
-   Outdoor Recreation 
-   Where to Hunt 
-   Where to Fish 
-   Our Locations 
Scenic DrivesTour routes of great scenic drives on National Wildlife Refuges.
                          -   Get Involved   **Forward **Back-   Get Involved 
-   Careers and Internships 
-   Volunteering 
-   Friends Partnerships 
-   Learning Opportunities 
-   Education Programs 
-   Events 
-   Partnerships   **Forward **Back-   Partnerships 
-   Partnership Categories 
-   Partner List 

VolunteerSearch for volunteer opportunities around the country
                          -   Newsroom   **Forward **Back-   Newsroom 
-   Press Releases 
-   Congressional Testimony 
-   Media Contacts 
Wild ThingsNews about wonderful wild things and places
                          -   Initiatives   **Forward **Back-   Initiatives 
-   Combating Wildlife Trafficking 
-   Director's Priorities 
-   Climate Change 
-   Hunting 
-   Fishing 
-   Invasive Species 
-   Pollinators 
-   Protecting Wildlife 
Climate ActionFWS is taking steps to mitigate climate impacts
                          -   I want to   **Forward **Back-  I Want To
-   Report Wildlife Crime 
-   Do Business with FWS 
-   Volunteer 
-   Find a Job or Internship 
-   Visit a Refuge 
-   Buy a Duck Stamp 
-   Apply for a Permit 
-   Find Funding 
-   Find Training 
Wild workSearch employment opportunities with USFWS

## Search

Search

# Atlantic Salmon

Image Details

View Profile

FWS Focus

overviewcharacteristicsgeographytimelineinformation & mediacontact

## Overview

Atlantic salmon are an anadromous migratory fish that begin their life in freshwater and migrate to the ocean to feed and grow, and then return to freshwater to spawn in rivers. The species name salar means the leaper. These fish are very fast swimmers and can jump very high - almost 12 feet!

Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon used to migrate from the Atlantic Ocean to rivers in North America. As early as 1864, hatcheries began raising Atlantic salmon to supplement wild populations because of concerns over declining stocks due to overfishing and damming of rivers.

Today, only small numbers return to Maine and eastern Canada. The Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and Critical Habitat was designated in 2009.

### Scientific Name

Animalia

### Location in Taxonomic Tree **

GenusSalmoSpeciesSalmo salar

### Identification Numbers

**

161996

## Characteristics

### Physical Characteristics

Adult Atlantic salmon that have spent one year in the ocean average 23” in length. If they spend a second winter in the ocean they average 30”.  In rare cases, they reach 35 inches in length if they have spent 2 or 3 years in the ocean. The number of eggs a female carries, known as fecundity, increases with the size of the fish. 

When they are about 6 inches long, they are called smolts and are ready to live in saltwater. They become silvery in color and migrate downstream back out to the ocean. 

Migration Behavior: Atlantic salmon are migratory. They are born in fresh water and then migrate to the ocean where they spend their adult lives growing and feeding. Atlantic salmon travel thousands of miles to their North Atlantic feeding grounds, usually near western Greenland. They remain for one to three years before returning to the river where they were hatched to reproduce. They can travel over 6,000 miles before coming back to rivers to spawn. They will sometimes travel 200 miles up river to find preferred places to spawn. The landlocked Atlantic salmon will migrate into the lakes’ tributary rivers to spawn.  

 Atlantic salmon generally weigh 8 to 12 pounds.  

### Life Cycle

Atlantic salmon are an anadromous migratory fish that begin their life in freshwater and migrate to the ocean to feed and grow, and then return to freshwater to spawn in rivers. After spawning, adults bury their fertilized eggs under a foot of gravel in nests called redds. The eggs hatch in April and May, and after three to four weeks, the young salmon, called fry, swim up through the gravel to hunt for food. They will then spend two to three years in or very near the stream where they hatched, hunting for food under and between rocks, feeding, and growing. When they are about 6 inches long, they are called smolts and are ready to live in saltwater and migrate downstream back out to the ocean. There they will swim and surf the ocean currents to their feeding grounds near Greenland. They will spend one to three years in the ocean growing into an adult, and can travel over 6,000 miles before coming back to rivers where they were hatched, to spawn and reproduce.  

Unlike Pacific salmon which die after spawning, Atlantic salmon can live to spawn several times during their lifetime.  But because spawning and migration require a lot of energy, and because they can get eaten once they are back out in the ocean, repeat spawners are not the norm. 

After spawning, adults bury their fertilized eggs under a foot of gravel in nests called redds. The eggs hatch in April and May, and after three to four weeks, the young salmon, called fry, swim up through the gravel to hunt for food.

### Food

The adults seek cold freshwater to spend the summer, and move to swift-running gravelly rivers or streams to spawn in October and November. After hatching, the young fish emerge from the gravel, and concentrate in nursery habitats, typically riffle areas with adequate cover, shallow water depth and moderate to fast water flow.

## Geography

Atlantic salmon are found in the North Atlantic from North America to Europe, and up into the Baltic sea. In North America, they were found from northern Quebec to Newfoundland, Canada and south to Long Island, New York in the United States. In the United States, they were once found in almost every river north from the Hudson River. Some North American salmon became “landlocked” in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain after the retreat of the glaciers, and they do not migrate out to the ocean.  

species/atlantic-salmon-salmo-salar/map>Launch Interactive Map