Atlantic Salmon in the Sea

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biology
• Main Author: Pyefinch, K. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1972
• Subjects: General Engineering; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0080455x00002459; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0080455X00002459

The main facts about the life history of Atlantic salmon have been known for a surprisingly long time. Neill (1946) gives an account of early writings on this subject which makes it clear that, for over four hundred years, it has been known that salmon breed in fresh-water, that they spend a period there before migrating to the sea and that, once in the sea, they undertake long migrations. These earlier writers tended to underestimate the period of time spent in the sea (e.g. they thought it likely that salmon returned to fresh water in the same year that they migrated to sea) but, otherwise, their knowledge of the life history of salmon was remarkably complete and accurate.