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{{about|a particular kind of fish|the food|Salmon as food|other uses}}{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}{{short description|Commercially important migratory fish}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}{{Paraphyletic group|name = Salmon|image = Salmo salar.jpg|image_caption = Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar|auto = yes|parent = Salmoninae|includes =

• {{extinct}}Eosalmo driftwoodensis Wilson, 1977
• Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum, 1792)
• Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum, 1792)
• Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792)
• Oncorhynchus masou (Brevoort, 1856)
• Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)
• Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792)
• Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758|excludes =

all other Oncorhynchus and Salmo species}}Salmon ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|m|ən}}; {{plural form}}: salmon) is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus of the family Salmonidae, native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (Salmo) and North Pacific (Oncorhynchus) basins. Other closely related fish in the same family include trout, char, grayling, whitefish, lenok and taimen, all coldwater fish of the subarctic and cooler temperate regions with some sporadic endorheic populations in Central Asia.Salmon are typically anadromous: they hatch in the shallow gravel beds of freshwater headstreams and spend their juvenile years in rivers, lakes and freshwater wetlands, migrate to the ocean as adults and live like sea fish, then return to their freshwater birthplace to reproduce. However, populations of several species are restricted to fresh waters (i.e. landlocked) throughout their lives. Folklore has it that the fish return to the exact stream where they themselves hatched to spawn, and tracking studies have shown this to be mostly true. A portion of a returning salmon run may stray and spawn in different freshwater systems; the percent of straying depends on the species of salmon.WEB,weblink NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC-TM30: Homing, Straying, and Colonization, U.S. Dept Commerce/NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC/Publications, 11 August 2015,weblink 20 November 2018, live, Homing behavior has been shown to depend on olfactory memory.JOURNAL, Scholz AT, Horrall RM, Cooper JC, Hasler AD, Imprinting to chemical cues: The basis for home stream selection in salmon, Science, 192, 4245, 1247–9, 1273590, 1976, 10.1126/science.1273590, 1976Sci...192.1247S, 11248713, JOURNAL, Ueda H, Physiological mechanism of homing migration in Pacific salmon from behavioral to molecular biological approaches, General and Comparative Endocrinology, 170, 2, 222–32, 20144612, 2011, 10.1016/j.ygcen.2010.02.003, 2115/44787, 205779299,weblinkweblink 9 October 2022, live, free, Salmon are important food fish and are intensively farmed in many parts of the world,BOOK, Lackey, Robert, Lach, Denise, Duncan, Sally, Salmon 2100: The Future of Wild Pacific Salmon, 2006, American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, 1-888569-78-6, 629, with Norway being the world's largest producer of farmed salmon, followed by Chile.NEWS,weblink Algas nocivas matam mais de 4,2 mil toneladas de salmão no Chile, 4 September 2022, They are also highly prized game fish for recreational fishing, by both freshwater and saltwater anglers. Many species of salmon have since been introduced and naturalized into non-native environments such as the Great Lakes of North America, Patagonia in South America and South Island of New Zealand.McDowall, R. M. (1994). The origins of New Zealand's chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Marine Fisheries Review, 1 January 1994.

Name and etymology

The Modern English term salmon is derived from , and , which in turn are from Anglo-Norman: saumon, from , and from (which in turn might have originated from salire, meaning "to leap".DICTIONARY, Salmon (n),weblink Online Etymology Dictionary, 25 April 2012,weblink 2 April 2019, live, ). The unpronounced "l" absent from Middle English was later added as a Latinisation to make the word closer to its Latin root. The term salmon has mostly displaced its now dialectal synonym lax, in turn from , from , from from Proto-Indo-European: *lakso-.WEB, salmon,weblink Wiktionary, 1 January 2023, en, 31 December 2022, WEB, lax,weblink Wiktionary, 1 January 2023, en, 12 December 2022,

Species

The seven commercially important species of salmon occur in two genera of the subfamily Salmoninae. The genus Salmo contains the Atlantic salmon, found in both sides of the North Atlantic, as well as more than 40 other species commonly named as trout. The genus Oncorhynchus contains 12 recognised species which occur naturally only in the North Pacific, six of which are known as Pacific salmon while the remainder are considered trout. Outside their native habitats, Chinook salmon have been successfully introduced in New Zealand and Patagonia, while coho, sockeye and Atlantic salmon have been established in Patagonia, as well.WEB,weblink Patagonian salmonids-This is the history and present state of salmonid introduction in Patagonia, 25 August 2011, Heiko Schneider, Global Fly Fisher, 25 April 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140426235535weblink">weblink 26 April 2014, dead, {| class="wikitable collapsible"! colspan="13"| Atlantic and Pacific salmon! Genus! Image! Common name! Scientific name! Maximumlength! Commonlength! Maximumweight! Maximumage! Trophiclevel! FishBase! FAO! ITIS! IUCN status! style="text-align:center;"| Salmo(Atlantic salmon)

120px)| Atlantic salmon| Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758

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13 years

4.4

{{FishBase

species = salar

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: SALMO SALAR, LINNAEUS, 1758 > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2929/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190402154054/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2929/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Salmo salar}}

LC IUCN 3 1.svg) Least concernWORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE >DATE=1996

SALMO SALAR >VOLUME=1996

DOI=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T19855A9026693.EN, 12 November 2021,

! rowspan="8" style="text-align:center;"| Oncorhynchus(Pacific salmon)

120px)| Chinook salmon| Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792)

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9 years

4.4

{{FishBase

species = tshawytscha

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ONCORHYNCHUS TSHAWYTSCHA (WALBAUM, 1792) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2933/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190403151355/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2933/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus tshawytscha }}

Not assessed

120px)| Chum salmon| Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum, 1792)

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7 years

3.5

{{FishBase

species = keta

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ONCORHYNCHUS KETA (WALBAUM, 1792) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2931/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190403151354/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2931/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus keta}}

Not assessed

120px)| Coho salmon| Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792)

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5 years

4.2

{{FishBase

species = kisutch

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ONCORHYNCHUS KISUTCH (WALBAUM, 1792) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2118/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190403211413/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2118/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus kisutch }}

Not assessed

120px)| Masu salmon| Oncorhynchus masou (Brevoort, 1856)

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3 years

3.6

{{FishBase

species = masou

year = 2012}}

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus masou }}

Not assessed

120px)| Pink salmon| Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum, 1792)

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3 years

4.2

{{FishBase

species = gorbuscha

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ONCORHYNCHUS GORBUSCHA (WALBAUM, 1792) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2116/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190403211409/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2116/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus gorbuscha }}

Not assessed

120px)| Sockeye salmon| Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)

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8 years

3.7

{{FishBase

species = nerka

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ONCORHYNCHUS NERKA (WALBAUM, 1792) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2117/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20190403211417/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/2117/EN

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Oncorhynchus nerka}}

LC IUCN 3 1.svg) Least concernRAND, P.S. >DATE=2011

ONCORHYNCHUS NERKA >VOLUME=2011

DOI=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T135301A4071001.EN, 12 November 2021,

{{common fish}}The extinct Eosalmo driftwoodensis, the oldest known Salmoninae fish in the fossil record, helps scientists figure how the different species of salmon diverged from a common ancestor. The Eocene salmon's fossil from British Columbia provides evidence that the divergence between Pacific and Atlantic salmon had not yet occurred 40 million years ago. Both the fossil record and analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggest the divergence occurred 10 to 20 million years ago during the Miocene. This independent evidence from DNA analysis and the fossil record indicate that salmon divergence occurred long before the Quaternary glaciation began the cycle of glacial advance and retreat.BOOK, Montgomery, David, 2004, King of Fish, Cambridge, MA, Westview Press, 0813342996, 27–28,

Non-salmon species of "salmon"

There are several other species of fish which are colloquially called "salmon" but are not true salmon. Of those listed below, the Danube salmon or huchen is a large freshwater salmonid closely related (from the same subfamily) to the seven species of salmon above, but others are fishes of unrelated orders, given the common name "salmon" simply due to similar shapes, behaviors and niches occupied:{| class="wikitable collapsible"! colspan="11"| Some other fishes called salmon! Common name! Scientific name! Order! Maximumlength! Commonlength! Maximumweight! Maximumage! Trophiclevel! FishBase! FAO! ITIS! IUCN status| Australian salmon| Arripis trutta (Forster, 1801)| Perciformes

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26 years

4.1

{{FishBase

species = trutta

year = 2012}}

{{ITIS

taxon=Arripis trutta}}

Not assessed

| Danube salmon| Hucho hucho (Linnaeus, 1758)| Salmoniformes

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15 years

4.2

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species = hucho

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{{ITIS

taxon=Hucho hucho}}

EN IUCN 3 1.svg) EndangeredFREYHOF, J. >AUTHOR2=KOTTELAT, M.

TITLE=HUCHO HUCHO

PAGE=E.T10264A3186143

ACCESS-DATE=12 NOVEMBER 2021,

| Hawaiian salmon| Elagatis bipinnulata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825)| Carangiformes

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6 years

3.6

{{FishBase

species = bipinnulata

year = 2012}}

SPECIES FACT SHEET: ELAGATIS BIPINNULATA (QUOY & GAIMARD, 1825) > URL = HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FISHERY/SPECIES/3122/EN

FAO > ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20181125090431/HTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/HOME/EN/INDEX.HTML

URL-STATUS = LIVE,

{{ITIS

taxon=Elagatis bipinnulata}}

Not assessed

| Indian salmon| Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw, 1804)| Perciformes

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4.4

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Not assessed

Distribution

{{multiple image }}

• Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reproduce in northern rivers on both coasts of the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar m. sebago) is a potamodromous (migratory only between fresh waters) subspecies/morph that live in a number of lakes in eastern North America and in Northern Europe, for instance in lakes Sebago, Onega, Ladoga, Saimaa, Vänern and Winnipesaukee. They are not a different species from the sea-run Atlantic salmon but have independently evolved a freshwater-only life cycle, which they maintain even when they could access the ocean.
• Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are also known in the United States as king salmon or "blackmouth salmon", and as "spring salmon" in British Columbia, Canada. Chinook salmon is the largest of all Pacific salmon, frequently exceeding {{cvt|6|ft}} and {{cvt|30|lb|order=flip}}.WEB, Chinook Salmon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061217130226weblink">weblink 17 December 2006, dead, The name tyee is also used in British Columbia to refer to Chinook salmon over 30 pounds and in the Columbia River watershed, especially large Chinooks were once referred to as June hogs. Chinook salmon are known to range as far north as the Mackenzie River and Kugluktuk in the central Canadian arctic,WEB,weblink The Distribution of Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the Canadian Western Arctic, S. A., Stephenson, 1 September 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170712043429weblink">weblink 12 July 2017, live, and as far south as the Central Californian Coast.WEB, Chinook Salmon,weblink NOAA Fisheries,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120528081218weblink">weblink 28 May 2012, 6 April 2012,
• Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is known as dog salmon or calico salmon in some parts of the US, and as keta in the Russian Far East. This species has the widest geographic range of the Pacific species:WEB, Chum Salmon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070405173410weblink">weblink 5 April 2007, dead, in the eastern Pacific from north of the Mackenzie River in Canada to south of the Sacramento River in California and in the western Pacific from Lena River in Siberia to the island of KyÅ«shÅ« in the Sea of Japan.
• Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are also known in the US as silver salmon. This species is found throughout the coastal waters of Alaska and British Columbia and as far south as Central California (Monterey Bay).WEB, Coho Salmon,weblink NOAA Fisheries,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130202014228weblink">weblink 2 February 2013, 28 June 2012, It is also now known to occur, albeit infrequently, in the Mackenzie River.
• Masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou), also known as {{nihongo|"cherry trout"|桜鱒 サクラマス|sakura masu}} in Japan, are found only in the western Pacific Ocean in Japan, Korea, and Russian Far East. A landlocked subspecies known as the Taiwanese salmon or Formosan salmon (Oncorhynchus masou formosanus) is found in central Taiwan's Chi Chia Wan Stream.NEWS, Formosan salmon, Taiwan Journal,weblink 13 December 2006, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071013213219weblink">weblink 13 October 2007,
• Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), known as humpback salmon or "humpies" in southeast and southwest Alaska, are found in the western Pacific from Lena River in Siberia to Korea, found throughout northern Pacific, and in the eastern Pacific from the Mackenzie River in Canada to northern California, usually in shorter coastal streams. It is the smallest of the Pacific species, with an average weight of {{convert|3.5|to|4.0|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}.WEB, Pink Salmon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070226222931weblink">weblink 26 February 2007, dead,
• Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is also known as red salmon in the US (especially Alaska).WEB, Sockeye Salmon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061206232441weblink">weblink 6 December 2006, dead, This lake-rearing species is found in the eastern Pacific from Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic to Klamath River in California, and in the western Pacific from the Anadyr River in Siberia to northern Hokkaidō island in Japan. Although most adult Pacific salmon feed on small fish, shrimp, and squid, sockeye feed on plankton they filter through gill rakers. Kokanee salmon are the landlocked form of sockeye salmon.
• Danube salmon, or huchen (Hucho hucho), are the largest permanent freshwater salmonid species.

Life cycle

{{see also|Salmon run|Juvenile salmon}}(File:Life cycle of Pacific salmon.jpg|thumb|Life cycle of Pacific salmon){{multiple image }}Salmon eggs are laid in freshwater streams typically at high latitudes. The eggs hatch into alevin or sac fry. The fry quickly develop into parr with camouflaging vertical stripes. The parr stay for six months to three years in their natal stream before becoming smolts, which are distinguished by their bright, silvery colour with scales that are easily rubbed off. Only 10% of all salmon eggs are estimated to survive to this stage.WEB, A Salmon's Life: An Incredible Journey,weblink U.S. Bureau of Land Management,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090225075127weblink">weblink 25 February 2009, The smolt body chemistry changes, allowing them to live in salt water. While a few species of salmon remain in fresh water throughout their life cycle, the majority are anadromous and migrate to the ocean for maturation: in these species, smolts spend a portion of their out-migration time in brackish water, where their body chemistry becomes accustomed to osmoregulation in the ocean. This body chemistry change is hormone-driven, causing physiological adjustments in the function of osmoregulatory organs such as the gills, which leads to large increases in their ability to secrete salt.{{Citation |last=McCormick |first=Stephen D. |title=5 - Smolt Physiology and Endocrinology |date=1 January 2012 |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123969514000050 |work=Fish Physiology |volume=32 |pages=199–251 |editor-last=McCormick |editor-first=Stephen D. |series=Euryhaline Fishes |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-396951-4.00005-0 |isbn=9780123969514 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |editor2-last=Farrell |editor2-first=Anthony P. |editor3-last=Brauner |editor3-first=Colin J.}} Hormones involved in increasing salinity tolerance include insulin-like growth factor I, cortisol, and thyroid hormones,JOURNAL, Björnsson, Björn Th., Hansson, Tiiu, February 1983, Effects of hypophysectomy on the plasma ionic and osmotic balance in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri,weblink General and Comparative Endocrinology, 49, 2, 240–247, 10.1016/0016-6480(83)90140-5, 6840518, 0016-6480, which permits the fish to endure the transition from a freshwater environment to the ocean.The salmon spend about one to five years (depending on the species) in the open ocean, where they gradually become sexually mature. The adult salmon then return primarily to their natal streams to spawn. Atlantic salmon spend between one and four years at sea. When a fish returns after just one year's sea feeding, it is called a grilse in Canada, Britain, and Ireland. Grilse may be present at spawning, and go unnoticed by large males, releasing their own sperm on the eggs.BOOK, Vladić, Tomislav, Petersson, Erik, 2015, 1st, Evolutionary Biology of the Atlantic Salmon, CRC Press, 978-1466598485, {{Page needed | date = May 2019}}Prior to spawning, depending on the species, salmon undergo changes. They may grow a hump, develop canine-like teeth, or develop a kype (a pronounced curvature of the jaws in male salmon). All change from the silvery blue of a fresh-run fish from the sea to a darker colour. Salmon can make amazing journeys, sometimes moving hundreds of miles upstream against strong currents and rapids to reproduce. Chinook and sockeye salmon from central Idaho, for example, travel over {{convert|900|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} and climb nearly {{convert|7000|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} from the Pacific Ocean as they return to spawn. Condition tends to deteriorate the longer the fish remain in fresh water, and they then deteriorate further after they spawn, when they are known as kelts. In all species of Pacific salmon, the mature individuals die within a few days or weeks of spawning, a trait known as semelparity. Between 2 and 4% of Atlantic salmon kelts survive to spawn again, all females. However, even in those species of salmon that may survive to spawn more than once (iteroparity), postspawning mortality is quite high (perhaps as high as 40 to 50%).(File:Redds.jpg|thumb|right|Redds on riverbed)To lay her roe, the female salmon uses her tail (caudal fin), to create a low-pressure zone, lifting gravel to be swept downstream, excavating a shallow depression, called a redd. The redd may sometimes contain 5,000 eggs covering {{convert|30|sqft|m2|abbr=on|order=flip}}.WEB, Susan, McGrath, Spawning Hope, Audubon Society,weblink 17 November 2006, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070927063039weblink">weblink 27 September 2007, The eggs usually range from orange to red. One or more males approach the female in her redd, depositing sperm, or milt, over the roe.WEB, Pacific Salmon, (Oncorhynchus spp.), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink 16 November 2018, live, The female then covers the eggs by disturbing the gravel at the upstream edge of the depression before moving on to make another redd. The female may make as many as seven redds before her supply of eggs is exhausted.Each year, the fish experiences a period of rapid growth, often in summer, and one of slower growth, normally in winter. This results in ring formation around an earbone called the otolith (annuli), analogous to the growth rings visible in a tree trunk. Freshwater growth shows as densely crowded rings, sea growth as widely spaced rings; spawning is marked by significant erosion as body mass is converted into eggs and milt.Freshwater streams and estuaries provide important habitat for many salmon species. They feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods, and other crustaceans while young, and primarily on other fish when older. Eggs are laid in deeper water with larger gravel and need cool water and good water flow (to supply oxygen) to the developing embryos. Mortality of salmon in the early life stages is usually high due to natural predation and human-induced changes in habitat, such as siltation, high water temperatures, low oxygen concentration, loss of stream cover, and reductions in river flow. Estuaries and their associated wetlands provide vital nursery areas for the salmon prior to their departure to the open ocean. Wetlands not only help buffer the estuary from silt and pollutants, but also provide important feeding and hiding areas.Salmon not killed by other means show greatly accelerated deterioration (phenoptosis, or "programmed aging") at the end of their lives. Their bodies rapidly deteriorate right after they spawn as a result of the release of massive amounts of corticosteroids.File:SalmonoidsBergeau.jpg|Juvenile salmon, parr, grow up in the relatively protected natal riverFile:Coho.jpg|The parr lose their camouflage bars and become smolt as they become ready for the transition to the ocean.File:Lake Washington Ship Canal Fish Ladder pamphlet - ocean phase Sockeye.jpg|Male ocean-phase adult sockeyeFile:Oncorhynchus nerka.flipped.jpg|Male spawning-phase adult sockeye{{clear}}

Diet

Salmon are mid-level carnivores whose diet change according to their life stage. Salmon fry predominantly feed upon zooplanktons until they reach fingerling sizes, when they start to consume more aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae, microcrustaceans and worms. As juveniles (parrs), they become more predatory and actively prey upon aquatic insects, small crustaceans, tadpoles and small bait fishes. They are also known to breach the water to attack terrestrial insects such as grasshoppers and dragonflies,WEB, Glatz, Kyle, 7 December 2021, What Do Salmon Eat? 12 Foods in Their Diet,weblink 15 July 2022, AZ Animals, en-US, as well as consuming fish eggs (even those of other salmon).As adults, salmon behave like other mid-sized pelagic fish, eating a variety of sea creatures including smaller forage fish such as lanternfish, herrings, sand lances, mackerels and barracudina. They also eat krill, squid and polychaete worms.WEB, Fisheries, NOAA, 3 May 2022, Fun Facts About Amazing Atlantic Salmon {{!, NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/outreach-and-education/fun-facts-about-amazing-atlantic-salmon |access-date=15 July 2022 |website=NOAA |language=en}}

Ecology

(File:Cub with trophy.jpg|thumb|left|Bear cub with salmon){{see also|Salmon run}}In the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, salmon are keystone species. The migration of salmon represent a massive retrograde nutrient transfer, rich in nitrogen, sulfur, carbon and phosphorus, from the ocean to the inland freshwater ecosystems. Predation by piscivorous land animals (such as ospreys, bears and otters) along the journey serve to transfer the nutrients from the water to land, and decomposition of salmon carcass benefits the forest ecosystem.In the case of Pacific salmon, most (if not all) of the salmon that survive to reach the headwater spawning grounds will die after laying eggs and their dead bodies sink to cover the gravel beds, with the nutrients released from the biodegradation of their corpses providing a significant boost to these otherwise biomass-poor shallow streams.

Bears

Grizzly bears function as ecosystem engineers, capturing salmon and carrying them into adjacent dry land to eat the fish. There they deposit nutrient-rich urine and feces and partially eaten carcasses. Bears preparing for hibernation tend to preferentially consume the more nutrient- and energy-rich salmon roes and brain over the actual flesh,JOURNAL, Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon,weblink Gende, S.M., Quinn, T.P., Willson, M.F., 2001-05-01, Oecologia, 127, 3, 372–382, 10.1007/s004420000590, 28547108, 2001Oecol.127..372G, 41395058, 2023-09-14, and are estimated to discard up to half the salmon they've harvested uneaten on the forest floor, in densities that can reach {{cvt|4000|kg}} per hectare, providing as much as 24% of the total nitrogen available to the riparian woodlands. The foliage of spruce trees up to {{cvt|500|m}} from a stream where grizzlies fish salmon have been found to contain nitrogen originating from the fished salmon.JOURNAL, Helfield, J., amp, Naiman, R., 2006, Keystone Interactions: Salmon and Bear in Riparian Forests of Alaska,weblink Ecosystems, 9, 2, 167–180, 10.1007/s10021-004-0063-5, 2006Ecosy...9..167H, 28989920,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120426080102weblink">weblink 26 April 2012, live,

Beavers

(File:Sockeye salmon jumping over beaver dam Lake Aleknagik, AK Kristina Ramstad 1997.jpg|thumb|upright|Sockeye salmon jumping over beaver dam)Beavers also function as ecosystem engineers; in the process of tree-cutting and damming, beavers alter the local ecosystems extensively. Beaver ponds can provide critical habitat for juvenile salmon.An example of this was seen in the years following 1818 in the Columbia River Basin. In 1818, the British government made an agreement with the U.S. government to allow U.S. citizens access to the Columbia catchment (see Treaty of 1818). At the time, the Hudson's Bay Company sent word to trappers to extirpate all furbearers from the area in an effort to make the area less attractive to U.S. fur traders. In response to the elimination of beavers from large parts of the river system, salmon runs plummeted, even in the absence of many of the factors usually associated with the demise of salmon runs. Salmon recruitment can be affected by beavers' dams because dams can:WEB,weblink Extinction, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 21 December 2007,weblink 1 January 2018, live, JOURNAL, Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lake fertilization: Review and summary of results, Environmental Reviews, 12, 3, 133–162, 10.1139/a04-008, 2004, Hyatt, K D, McQueen, D J, Shortreed, K S, Rankin, D P, 12930576,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200807012439weblink">weblink dead, 7 August 2020, WEB,weblink The Importance of Beaver Ponds to Coho Salmon Production in the Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, USA, Pollock, M. M., Pess, G. R., Beechie, T. J., 21 December 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060901185801weblink">weblink 1 September 2006, live,

• Slow the rate at which nutrients are flushed from the water system; nutrients provided by adult salmon dying throughout the fall and winter remain available in the spring to newly hatched juveniles
• Provide deeper salmon pools where young salmon can avoid avian predators
• Increase productivity through algal photosynthesis and by enhancing the conversion efficiency of the cellulose-powered detritus cycle{{Clarify | date = May 2019 | reason = Not directly clear how it's related to Salmon; also, only one of the references seem to posit a question that the photosynthesis increase due to fertilizers related to Salmon may help juvenile salmons. }}
• Create slow-water environments where juvenile salmon put the food they ingest into growth rather than into fighting currents
• Increase structural complexity with many physical niches where salmon can avoid predators

Beaver dams are able to nurture salmon juveniles in estuarine tidal marshes where the salinity is less than 10 ppm. Beavers build small dams of generally less than {{convert|2|ft|cm|sigfig=1|abbr=on|order=flip}} high in channels in the myrtle zone{{Clarify | date = May 2019 | reason = What's a 'myrtle zone'}}. These dams can be overtopped at high tide and hold water at low tide. This provides refuges for juvenile salmon so they do not have to swim into large channels where they are subject to predation by larger fish.WEB, Hood, W Gregory, AN OVERLOOKED ECOLOGICAL WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080724000846weblink">weblink 24 July 2008, dead,

Lampreys

It has been discovered that rivers which have seen a decline or disappearance of anadromous lampreys, loss of the lampreys also affects the salmon in a negative way. Like salmon, anadromous lampreys stop feeding and die after spawning, and their decomposing bodies release nutrients into the stream. Also, along with species like rainbow trout and Sacramento sucker, lampreys clean the gravel in the rivers during spawning.WEB, 19 January 2010, Yuba River Steelhead Redd Surveys (preliminary draft),weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180429222315weblink">weblink 29 April 2018, live, Yuba River Management Team (RMT) Web Site, Yuba County Water Agency, Their larvae, called ammocoetes, are filter feeders which contribute to the health of the waters. They are also a food source for the young salmon, and being fattier and oilier, it is assumed predators prefer them over salmon offspring, taking off some of the predation pressure on smolts.NEWS, Elder's devotion to ugly fish lives on after his tragic death, 20 August 2014,weblink Al Jazeera America,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181116074100weblink">weblink 16 November 2018, live, {{Unreliable source? | date = May 2019}} Adult lampreys are also the preferred prey of seals and sea lions, which can eat 30 lampreys to every salmon, allowing more adult salmon to enter the rivers to spawn without being eaten by the marine mammals.NEWS, Pacific Lamprey's Big Year, 18 June 2017,weblink Redheaded Blackbelt,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181116062430weblink">weblink 16 November 2018, live, WEB, 2014, A Primeval Marvel,weblink terra, Oregon State University, 9, 2,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180503042128weblink">weblink 3 May 2018, live,

Parasites

According to Canadian biologist Dorothy Kieser, the myxozoan parasite Henneguya salminicola is commonly found in the flesh of salmonids. It has been recorded in the field samples of salmon returning to the Haida Gwaii Islands. The fish responds by walling off the parasitic infection into a number of cysts that contain milky fluid. This fluid is an accumulation of a large number of parasites.File:Henneguya salminicola in flesh of coho salmon, BC, Canada.JPG|thumb|left|Henneguya salminicola, a myxozoamyxozoaHenneguya and other parasites in the myxosporean group have complex life cycles, where the salmon is one of two hosts. The fish releases the spores after spawning. In the Henneguya case, the spores enter a second host, most likely an invertebrate, in the spawning stream. When juvenile salmon migrate to the Pacific Ocean, the second host releases a stage infective to salmon. The parasite is then carried in the salmon until the next spawning cycle. The myxosporean parasite that causes whirling disease in trout has a similar life cycle.WEB,weblink Whirling Disease - Myxobolus cerebralis, 13 December 2007, Danielle M., Crosier, Daniel P., Molloy, Jerri, Bartholomew, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080216100913weblink">weblink 16 February 2008, However, as opposed to whirling disease, the Henneguya infestation does not appear to cause disease in the host salmon—even heavily infected fish tend to return to spawn successfully.According to Dr. Kieser, a lot of work on Henneguya salminicola was done by scientists at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo in the mid-1980s, in particular, an overview reportJOURNAL,weblink Investigation of the Distribution, Detection, and Biology of Henneguya salminicola (Protozoa, Myxozoa), a Parasite of the Flesh of Pacific Salmon, Boyce, N.P., Kabata, Z., Margolis, L., 1985, Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1450, 55,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141112112222weblink">weblink 12 November 2014, live, which states, "the fish that have the longest fresh water residence time as juveniles have the most noticeable infections. Hence in order of prevalence, coho are most infected followed by sockeye, chinook, chum and pink. As well, the report says, at the time the studies were conducted, stocks from the middle and upper reaches of large river systems in British Columbia such as Fraser, Skeena, Nass and from mainland coastal streams in the southern half of B.C., "are more likely to have a low prevalence of infection." The report also states, "It should be stressed that Henneguya, economically deleterious though it is, is harmless from the view of public health. It is strictly a fish parasite that cannot live in or affect warm blooded animals, including man".According to Klaus Schallie, Molluscan Shellfish Program Specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, "Henneguya salminicola is found in southern B.C. also and in all species of salmon. I have previously examined smoked chum salmon sides that were riddled with cysts and some sockeye runs in Barkley Sound (southern B.C., west coast of Vancouver Island) are noted for their high incidence of infestation."{{Citation needed | date = May 2019 | reason = This paragraph appears to be sentences that are copied from website to website with unclear origin; would improve reliability if primary source is specified.}}Sea lice, particularly Lepeophtheirus salmonis and various Caligus species, including C. clemensi and C. rogercresseyi, can cause deadly infestations of both farm-grown and wild salmon.WEB, 2004, Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the dialogue on the farmed-wild salmon story,weblink dead, Watershed Watch Salmon Society,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120713061313weblink">weblink 13 July 2012, JOURNAL, Bravo, S., 2003, Sea lice in Chilean salmon farms, Bull. Eur. Assoc. Fish Pathol., 23, 197–200,weblink Sea lice are ectoparasites which feed on mucus, blood, and skin, and migrate and latch onto the skin of wild salmon during free-swimming, planktonic nauplii and copepodid larval stages, which can persist for several days.JOURNAL, Morton, A., R, Routledge, C, Peet, A, Ladwig, Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon in the nearshore marine environment of British Columbia, Canada, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61, 2, 147–157, 10.1139/f04-016, 2004, THESIS, Peet, C. R., 2007, Interactions between sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus clemensii), juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus keta and Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and salmon farms in British Columbia, MSc, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161026164902weblink">weblink 26 October 2016, live, JOURNAL, KrkoÅ¡ek, M, A, Gottesfeld, B, Proctor, D, Rolston, C, Carr-Harris, M.A., Lewis, Effects of host migration, diversity and aquaculture on sea lice threats to Pacific salmon populations, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274, 1629, 3141–9, 17939989, 2293942, 2007, 10.1098/rspb.2007.1122, Large numbers of highly populated, open-net salmon farms{{Efn-ua |Open-net fish farms are large anchored floating net cages often located in bays and relatively sheltered areas. Each farm may have over a million fish.WEB, Morton, Alexandra, SALMON CONFIDENTIAL: The ugly truth about Canada's open-net salmon farms,weblink WHAT IS A FISH FARM?, 10 May 2019,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151005203923weblink">weblink 5 October 2015, live, }}can create exceptionally large concentrations of sea lice; when exposed in river estuaries containing large numbers of open-net farms, many young wild salmon are infected, and do not survive as a result.JOURNAL, Morton, Alexandra, Routledge, Rick, Krkosek, Martin, Sea Louse Infestation in Wild Juvenile Salmon and Pacific Herring Associated with Fish Farms off the East-Central Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 28, 2, 2008, 523–532, 0275-5947, 10.1577/M07-042.1, 2008NAJFM..28..523M,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130829060206weblink">weblink 29 August 2013, dead, JOURNAL, Krkosek, M., Lewis, M. A., Morton, A., Frazer, L. N., Volpe, J. P., Epizootics of wild fish induced by farm fish, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 42, 2006, 15506–15510, 0027-8424, 10.1073/pnas.0603525103, 17021017, 1591297, 2006PNAS..10315506K, free, Adult salmon may survive otherwise critical numbers of sea lice, but small, thin-skinned juvenile salmon migrating to sea are highly vulnerable. On the Pacific coast of Canada, the louse-induced mortality of pink salmon in some regions is commonly over 80%.JOURNAL, KrkoÅ¡ek, Martin, Declining Wild Salmon Populations in Relation to Parasites from Farm Salmon, Science, 318, 5857, 1772–5, 10.1126/science.1148744, 18079401, 2007, 2007Sci...318.1772K, 86544687,

Effect of pile driving

The risk of injury caused by underwater pile driving has been studied by Dr. Halvorsen and her co-workers.JOURNAL, Browman, Howard, Halvorsen, Michele B., Casper, Brandon M., Woodley, Christa M., Carlson, Thomas J., Popper, Arthur N., Threshold for Onset of Injury in Chinook Salmon from Exposure to Impulsive Pile Driving Sounds, PLOS ONE, 7, 6, 2012, e38968, 1932-6203, 10.1371/journal.pone.0038968, 22745695, 3380060, 2012PLoSO...738968H, free, The study concluded that the fish are at risk of injury if the cumulative sound exposure level exceeds 210 dB relative to 1 μPa2 s.{{Clarify | date = May 2019 | reason = The cumulative SEL number is most likely meaningless to a layperson; probably needs examples to what this number is equivalent.}}

Wild fisheries

File:Time series for global capture of true salmon.png|thumb|upright=1.8|left|Wild fisheries – commercial capture in tonnes of all true wild salmon species 1950–2010, as reported by the FAOFAO

Commercial

File:Seiner fishing for salmon Prince William Sound-2007.jpg|thumb|Seine fishing for salmon Prince William Sound, AlaskaAlaskaAs can be seen from the production chart at the left, the global capture reported by different countries to the FAO of commercial wild salmon has remained fairly steady since 1990 at about one million tonnes per year. This is in contrast to farmed salmon (below) which has increased in the same period from about 0.6 million tonnes to well over two million tonnes.Nearly all captured wild salmon are Pacific salmon. The capture of wild Atlantic salmon has always been relatively small, and has declined steadily since 1990. In 2011 only 2,500 tonnes were reported. In contrast, about half of all farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon.

Recreational

File:In the net^ - geograph.org.uk - 98595.jpg|thumb|Angler and gillie landing a salmon in ScotlandScotlandRecreational salmon fishing can be a technically demanding kind of sport fishing, not necessarily intuitive for beginning fishermen.CONFERENCE, Bengtsson, Bo, A-L, Toivonen, Tuunainen, P, Weissglas, G, Appelblad, H, 1997,weblink Wild-spawning Baltic salmon – A natural resource redefined: From food to toys for "boys"?, Socio-economics of recreational fishery: Hotel Royal Wasa, Vaasa, Finland, Copenhagen, Nordic Council of Ministers [Nordiska ministerrådet], 89–95, 9789289301206, A conflict exists between commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen for the right to salmon stock resources. Commercial fishing in estuaries and coastal areas is often restricted so enough salmon can return to their natal rivers where they can spawn and be available for sport fishing. On parts of the North American West Coast salmon sport fishing has completely replaced inshore commercial salmon fishing.BOOK, Shaw, Susan, James, Muir, 1987,weblink Salmon: Economics and Marketing, Springer Netherlands, 9780709933441, 250, In most cases, the commercial value of a salmon sold as seafood can be several times less than the value attributed to the same fish caught by a sport fisherman. This is "a powerful economic argument for allocating stock resources preferentially to sport fishing".{{clear}}

Farms

{{More citations needed|1=section|date=April 2023}}File:Time series for global aquaculture of true salmon.png|thumb|upright=1.8|left|Aquaculture production in tonnes of all true salmon species 1950–2010, as reported by the FAOFAOFile:Fish farming in Torskefjorden, Senja, Troms, Norway, 2014 August.jpg|thumb|Salmon farming sea cage in Torskefjorden, Senja Island, Troms, NorwayNorwaySalmon aquaculture is a major contributor to the world production of farmed finfish, representing about US$10 billion annually. Other commonly cultured fish species include tilapia, catfish, sea bass, carp and bream. Salmon farming is significant in Chile, Norway, Scotland, Canada and the Faroe Islands; it is the source for most salmon consumed in the United States and Europe. Atlantic salmon are also, in very small volumes, farmed in Russia and Tasmania, Australia.Salmon are carnivorous, and need to be fed meals produced from catching other wild forage fish and other marine organisms. Salmon farming leads to a high demand for wild forage fish. As a predator, salmon require large nutritional intakes of protein, and farmed salmon consume more fish than they generate as a final product. On a dry weight basis, 2–4 kg of wild-caught fish are needed to produce one kilogram of salmon.WEB, Rosamond L., Naylor, Nature's Subsidies to Shrimp and Salmon Farming,weblink Science; 10/30/98, Vol. 282 Issue 5390, p883, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090326171021weblink">weblink 26 March 2009, As the salmon farming industry expands, it requires more forage fish for feed, at a time when 75% of the world's monitored fisheries are already near to or have exceeded their maximum sustainable yield.WEB, 2005, It's all about salmon,weblink dead, Seafood Choices Alliance,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150924095748weblink">weblink 24 September 2015, The industrial-scale extraction of wild forage fish for salmon farming affects the survivability of other wild predatory fish which rely on them for food. Research is ongoing into sustainable and plant-based salmon feeds.WEB, Fisheries, NOAA, 2019-12-30, Feeds for Aquaculture {{!, NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/feeds-aquaculture |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=NOAA |language=en}}Intensive salmon farming uses open-net cages, which have low production costs. It has the drawback of allowing disease and sea lice to spread to local wild salmon stocks.NEWS, Fish farms drive wild salmon populations toward extinction, 13 December 2007,weblink SeaWeb,weblink 25 November 2018, live, File:Salmon newborn.jpg|thumb|right|Artificially incubated chum salmon fries ]]Another form of salmon production, which is safer but less controllable, is to raise salmon in hatcheries until they are old enough to become independent. They are released into rivers in an attempt to increase the salmon population. This system is referred to as ranching. It was very common in countries such as Sweden, before the Norwegians developed salmon farming, but is seldom done by private companies. As anyone may catch the salmon when they return to spawn, a company is limited in benefiting financially from their investment.Because of this, the ranching method has mainly been used by various public authorities and non-profit groups, such as the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, as a way to increase salmon populations in situations where they have declined due to overharvesting, construction of dams and habitat destruction or fragmentation. Negative consequences to this sort of population manipulation include genetic "dilution" of the wild stocks. Many jurisdictions are now beginning to discourage supplemental fish planting in favour of harvest controls, and habitat improvement and protection.A variant method of fish stocking, called ocean ranching, is under development in Alaska. There, the young salmon are released into the ocean far from any wild salmon streams. When it is time for them to spawn, they return to where they were released, where fishermen can catch them.An alternative method to hatcheries is to use spawning channels. These are artificial streams, usually parallel to an existing stream, with concrete or rip-rap sides and gravel bottoms. Water from the adjacent stream is piped into the top of the channel, sometimes via a header pond, to settle out sediment. Spawning success is often much better in channels than in adjacent streams due to the control of floods, which in some years can wash out the natural redds. Because of the lack of floods, spawning channels must sometimes be cleaned out to remove accumulated sediment. The same floods that destroy natural redds also clean the regular streams. Spawning channels preserve the natural selection of natural streams, as there is no benefit, as in hatcheries, to use prophylactic chemicals to control diseases.{{Citation needed | date = May 2019 }}Farm-raised salmon are fed the carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin to match their flesh colour to wild salmonWEB,weblink Pigments in Salmon Aquaculture: How to Grow a Salmon-colored Salmon, 26 August 2007, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071013221146weblink">weblink 13 October 2007, to improve their marketability.NEWS, Guilford, Gwynn, Here's why your farmed salmon has color added to it,weblink 12 March 2015, Quartz (publication), 12 March 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150313094123weblink">weblink 13 March 2015, live, Wild salmon get these carotenoids, primarily astaxanthin, from eating shellfish and krill.One proposed alternative to the use of wild-caught fish as feed for the salmon, is the use of soy-based products. This should be better for the local environment of the fish farm, but producing soy beans has a high environmental cost for the producing region. The fish omega-3 fatty acid content would be reduced compared to fish-fed salmon.Another possible alternative is a yeast-based coproduct of bioethanol production, proteinaceous fermentation biomass. Substituting such products for engineered feed can result in equal (sometimes enhanced) growth in fish.WEB, November 2010, The Future of Aquafeeds: DRAFT for public comment,weblink dead, NOAA/USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111015043844weblink">weblink 15 October 2011, 56, With its increasing availability, this would address the problems of rising costs for buying hatchery fish feed.Yet another attractive alternative is the increased use of seaweed. Seaweed provides essential minerals and vitamins for growing organisms. It offers the advantage of providing natural amounts of dietary fiber and having a lower glycemic load than grain-based fish meal. In the best-case scenario, widespread use of seaweed could yield a future in aquaculture that eliminates the need for land, freshwater, or fertilizer to raise fish.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130214173631weblink">Salmon Recovery Planning. nwr.noaa.gov. p. 57.{{Failed verification | date = May 2019}}

Management

File:Becharof Wilderness Salmon.jpg|thumb|right|Spawning sockeye salmon in Becharof Creek, Becharof Wilderness, AlaskaAlaska(File:Pacific salmon size declines could result in negative consequences for ecosystems and people.webp|thumb|Significant declines in the size of many species of Pacific salmon over the past 30 years are negatively impacting salmon fecundity, nutrient transport, commercial fishery profits, and rural food security.){{see also|Salmon conservation|Aquaculture of salmon#Issues}}Salmon population levels are of concern in the Atlantic and in some parts of the Pacific.JOURNAL, Lackey, Robert, Salmon policy: science, society, restoration, and reality, Environmental Science and Policy, 1999, 2, 4–5, 369–379, 10.1016/S1462-9011(99)00034-9, 1999ESPol...2..369L, The population of wild salmon declined markedly in recent decades, especially North Atlantic populations, which spawn in the waters of western Europe and eastern Canada, and wild salmon in the Snake and Columbia River systems in northwestern United States.Alaska fishery stocks are still abundant, and catches have been on the rise in recent decades, after the state initiated limitations in 1972.WEB, 1878–2010, Historical Commercial Salmon Catches and Exvessel Values,weblink Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 6 August 2011, NEWS, Viechnicki, Joe, Pink salmon numbers record setting in early season,weblink 6 August 2011, KRBD Public Radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, 3 August 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120328132113weblink">weblink 28 March 2012, {{Citation needed | date = May 2019 | reason = The references already given are inaccessible including the archived versions.}} Some of the most important Alaskan salmon sustainable wild fisheries are located near the Kenai River, Copper River, and in Bristol Bay. Fish farming of Pacific salmon is outlawed in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone,BOOK, Hey, Ellen,weblink The Regulation of Driftnet Fishing on the High Seas: Legal Issues, Burke, W. T., Pnzoni, D., 1991, Food & Agriculture Org., 978-92-5-103009-7, en, however, there is a substantial network of publicly funded hatcheries,media.aprn.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521114814weblink |date=21 May 2013 }}|low fish returns in Southeast this summer have been tough on the region's hatcheries and the State of Alaska's fisheries management system is viewed as a leader in the management of wild fish stocks.In Canada, returning Skeena River wild salmon support commercial, subsistence and recreational fisheries, as well as the area's diverse wildlife on the coast and around communities hundreds of miles inland in the watershed. The status of wild salmon in Washington is mixed. Of 435 wild stocks of salmon and steelhead, only 187 of them were classified as healthy; 113 had an unknown status, one was extinct, 12 were in critical condition and 122 were experiencing depressed populations.BOOK, 10.1007/978-1-4615-6375-4_11, 978-1-4615-6375-4, Status of Wild Salmon and Steelhead Stocks in Washington State, 127–144, Springer, Johnson, Thom H., Lincoln, Rich, Graves, Gary R., Gibbons, Robert G., Pacific Salmon & Their Ecosystems, amp, Stouder, Deanna J., Bisson, Peter A., Naiman, Robert J., 1997, The commercial salmon fisheries in California have been either severely curtailed or closed completely in recent years, due to critically low returns on the Klamath and or Sacramento rivers, causing millions of dollars in losses to commercial fishermen.WEB, Cost and Revenue Characteristics of the Salmon Fisheries in California and Oregon, Hackett, S., D. Hansen, amp,weblink 1 June 2009, 4 June 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090604043208weblink">weblink dead, Both Atlantic and Pacific salmon are popular sportfish.Salmon populations have been established in all the Great Lakes. Coho stocks were planted by the state of Michigan in the late 1960s to control the growing population of non-native alewife. Now Chinook (king), Atlantic, and coho (silver) salmon are annually stocked in all Great Lakes by most bordering states and provinces. These populations are not self-sustaining and do not provide much in the way of a commercial fishery, but have led to the development of a thriving sport fishery.Wild, self sustaining Pacific salmon populations have been established in New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina.JOURNAL, Correa, Cristian, Moran, Paul, Polyphyletic ancestry of expanding Patagonian Chinook salmon populations, Scientific Reports, 2017, 14338, 1, 14338, 10.1038/s41598-017-14465-y, 29084997, 5662728, 2017NatSR...714338C, free, They are highly prized by sport fishers, but others worry about displacing native fish species.JOURNAL, Iriarte, J. Agustin, Lobos, Gabriel A., Jaksic, Fabian M., Invasive vertebrate species in Chile and their control and monitoring by governmental agencies, Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 2005, 78, 78, 143–154, Also, and especially in Chile (Aquaculture in Chile), both Atlantic and Pacific salmon are used in net pen farming.In 2020 researchers reported widespread declines in the sizes of four species of wild Pacific salmon: Chinook, chum, coho, and sockeye. These declines have been occurring for 30 years, and are thought to be associated with climate change and competition with growing numbers of pink and hatchery salmon.NEWS, Alaska's salmon are getting smaller, affecting people and ecosystems,weblink 6 September 2020, phys.org, en, JOURNAL, Oke, K. B., Cunningham, C. J., Westley, P. a. H., Baskett, M. L., Carlson, S. M., Clark, J., Hendry, A. P., Karatayev, V. A., Kendall, N. W., Kibele, J., Kindsvater, H. K., Kobayashi, K. M., Lewis, B., Munch, S., Reynolds, J. D., Vick, G. K., Palkovacs, E. P., Recent declines in salmon body size impact ecosystems and fisheries, Nature Communications, 19 August 2020, 11, 1, 4155, 10.1038/s41467-020-17726-z, 32814776, 7438488, 2020NatCo..11.4155O, en, 2041-1723, (File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px) Text and images are available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

As food

File:Salmon sashimi.jpg|thumb|Salmon sashimisashimiFile:Salmon eggs at the Tsukiji Fish Market.jpg|thumb|Salmon eggs being sold at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, JapanJapanSalmon is a popular food fish. Classified as an oily fish,NEWS,weblink What's an oily fish?, 24 June 2004, Food Standards Agency, dead,weblink 10 December 2010, salmon is considered to be healthy due to the fish's high protein, high omega-3 fatty acids, and high vitamin DWEB,weblink Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D, National Institutes of Health, 13 December 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070716065832weblink">weblink 16 July 2007, dead, content. Salmon is also a source of cholesterol, with a range of {{nowrap |23–214 mg/100 g}} depending on the species.WEB,weblink Cholesterol: Cholesterol Content in Seafoods (Tuna, Salmon, Shrimp), 13 December 2007, 20 December 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061220045844weblink">weblink dead, According to reports in the journal Science, farmed salmon may contain high levels of dioxins.{{medical citation needed|date=September 2015}} PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) levels may be up to eight times higher in farmed salmon than in wild salmon,JOURNAL, 10.1126/science.1091447, 14716013, Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon, Science, 303, 5655, 226–9, 2004, Hites, R. A., Foran, J. A., Carpenter, D. O., Hamilton, M. C., Knuth, B. A., Schwager, S. J.,weblink 27 October 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170811231049weblink">weblink 11 August 2017, dead, 2004Sci...303..226H, 10.1.1.319.8375, 24058620, but still well below levels considered dangerous.NEWS,weblink Farmed vs. wild salmon – which is better?, CTV News, 28 April 2013,weblink 8 November 2018, live, JOURNAL, 1257546, 10.1289/ehp.7626, 2005, Foran, J. A., Risk-Based Consumption Advice for Farmed Atlantic and Wild Pacific Salmon Contaminated with Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds, Environmental Health Perspectives, 113, 5, 552–556, Carpenter, D. O., Hamilton, M. C., Knuth, B. A., Schwager, S. J., 15866762, Nonetheless, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the benefits of eating even farmed salmon still outweigh any risks imposed by contaminants.JOURNAL, 10.1001/jama.296.15.1885, 17047219, Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health, JAMA, 296, 15, 1885–99, 2006, Mozaffarian, Dariush, Rimm, Eric B., Farmed salmon has a high omega-3 fatty acid content comparable to wild salmon.JOURNAL, Dose-Dependent Consumption of Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Increases Plasma Phospholipid n-3 Fatty Acids Differentially, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113, 2, 282–7, 23351633, 3572904, 2013, Raatz, S. K., Rosenberger, T. A., Johnson, L. K., Wolters, W. W., Burr, G. S., Picklo Mj, Sr, 10.1016/j.jand.2012.09.022, The type of omega-3 present may not be a factor for other important health functions.{{Vague | date = May 2019 | reason = This sentence maybe too vague.}}Salmon flesh is generally orange to red, although white-fleshed wild salmon with white-black skin colour occurs. The natural colour of salmon results from carotenoid pigments, largely astaxanthin, but also canthaxanthin, in the flesh.WEB, Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition on the use of canthaxanthin in feedingstuffs for salmon and trout, laying hens, and other poultry., 6–7, European Commission—Health & Consumer Protection Directorate,weblink 13 November 2006, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061116053337weblink">weblink 16 November 2006, Wild salmon get these carotenoids from eating krill and other tiny shellfish.The vast majority of Atlantic salmon available in market around the world are farmed (almost 99%),WEB, Fen, Montaigne, Everybody Loves Atlantic Salmon: Here's the Catch..., National Geographic Society, National Geographic,weblink 17 November 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070301231621weblink">weblink 1 March 2007, dead, whereas the majority of Pacific salmon are wild-caught (greater than 80%). Canned salmon in the U.S. is usually wild Pacific catch, though some farmed salmon is available in canned form. Smoked salmon is another popular preparation method, and can either be hot or cold smoked. Lox can refer to either cold-smoked salmon or salmon cured in a brine solution (also called gravlax). Traditional canned salmon includes some skin (which is harmless) and bone (which adds calcium). Skinless and boneless canned salmon is also available.Raw salmon flesh may contain Anisakis nematodes, marine parasites that cause anisakiasis. Before the availability of refrigeration, the Japanese did not consume raw salmon. Salmon and salmon roe have only recently come into use in making sashimi (raw fish) and sushi.NEWS, Jess, Jiang, 18 September 2015, How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple, National Public Radio,weblink 14 January 2017,weblink 24 April 2019, live, To the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, salmon is considered a vital part of the diet. Specifically, the indigenous peoples of Haida Gwaii, located near former Queen Charlotte Island in British Columbia, rely on salmon as one of their main sources of food, although many other bands have fished Pacific waters for centuries.WEB, September 2007, Haida Gwaii Strategic Land Use Agreement,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150402095356weblink">weblink 2 April 2015, dead, Council of the Haida Nation, Salmon are not only ancient and unique, but it is important because it is expressed in culture, art forms, and ceremonial feasts. Annually, salmon spawn in Haida, feeding on everything on the way upstream and down. Within the Haida nation, salmon is referred to as "tsiin", and is prepared in several ways including smoking, baking, frying, and making soup.Historically, there has always been enough salmon, as traditional subsistence fishing methods did not result in overfishing, and people only took what they needed.BOOK, Garner, Kerri, Parfitt, Ben, April 2006, First Nations, Salmon Fisheries and the Rising Importance of Conservation (Prepared for the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council),weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150402091754weblink">weblink 2 April 2015, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, Vancouver, BC, 1-897110-28-6, In 2003, a report on First Nations participation in commercial fisheries, including salmon, commissioned by BC's Ministry of Agriculture and Food found that there were 595 First Nation-owned and operated commercial vessels in the province. Of those vessels, First Nations' members owned 564. However, employment within the industry has decreased overall by 50% in the last decade, with 8,142 registered commercial fishermen in 2003. This has affected employment for many fisherman, who rely on salmon as a source of income.{{Relevance inline | date = May 2019 | reason = This paragraph is mostly related to employment, not food.}}Black bears also rely on salmon as food. The leftovers the bears leave behind are considered important nutrients for the Canadian forest, such as the soil, trees and plants. In this sense, the salmon feed the forest and in return receive clean water and gravel in which to hatch and grow, sheltered from extremes of temperature and water flow in times of high and low rainfall. However, the condition of the salmon in Haida has been affected in recent decades. Due to logging and development, much of the salmon's habitat (i.e., Ain River) has been destroyed, resulting in the fish being close to endangered. For residents, this has resulted in limits on catches, in turn, has affected families diets, and cultural events such as feasts. Some of the salmon systems in danger include: the Davidon, Naden, Mamim, and Mathers. It is clear that further protection is needed for salmon, such as their habitats, where logging commonly occurs.

Fishing

History

{{see also|Salmon cannery}}File:Wenceslas Hollar - Salmon fishing (State 1).jpg|thumb|right|Seine fishing for salmon – Wenzel HollarWenzel HollarThe salmon has long been at the heart of the culture and livelihood of coastal dwellers, which can be traced as far back as 5,000 years when archeologists discovered Nisqually tribe remnants.BOOK, Messages from Frank's Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way,weblink registration, Wilkinson, Charles, 2000, University of Washington Press, 978-0295980119, 44391504, The original distribution of the genus Oncorhynchus covered the Pacific Rim coastline.BOOK, Atlas of pacific salmon : the first map-based status assessment of salmon in the North Pacific, Nadel., Foley, Dana, 1 January 2005, California University Press, 978-0520245044, 470376738, History shows salmon used tributaries, rivers and estuaries without regard to jurisdiction for 18–22 million years. Baseline data is near impossible to recreate based on the inconsistent historical data, but there has been massive depletion since the 1900s. The Pacific Northwest once sprawled with native inhabitants who ensured little degradation was caused by their actions to salmon habitats. As animists, the indigenous people relied not only for salmon for food, but spiritual guidance. The role of the salmon spirit guided the people to respect ecological systems such as the rivers and tributaries the salmon used for spawning. Natives often used the entire fish and left little waste by turning the bladder into glue, and using bones for toys and skin for clothing and shoes. The original salmon ceremony, introduced by indigenous tribes on the Pacific coast, consisted of three major parts. First was the welcoming of the first catch, and then the cooking of it. Finally the bones were returned to the sea to induce hospitality so other salmon would give their lives to the people of that village.JOURNAL, 40316132, The Fish God Gave Us: The First Salmon Ceremony Revived, Arctic Anthropology, 24, 1, 56–66, Amoss, Pamela T., 1987, Many tribes, such as the Yurok, had a taboo against harvesting the first fish that swam upriver in summer, but once they confirmed that the salmon run had returned in abundance they would begin to catch them in plentiful.BOOK, Salmon Without Rivers: A History of the Pacific Salmon Crisis, Jim, Lichatowich, 1999, Island Press, 978-1559633604, 868995261, The indigenous practices were guided by deep ecological wisdom, which was eradicated when Euro-American settlements began to be developed.BOOK, Making Salmon: An Environmental History of the Northwest Fisheries Crisis, E., Taylor, Joseph, 2001, Univ of Washington Press, 978-0295981147, 228275619, Salmon have a much grander history than what is presently shown today. The salmon that once dominated the Pacific Ocean are now just a fraction in population and size. The Pacific salmon population is now less than 1–3% of what it was when Lewis and Clark arrived at the region.WEB,weblink Endangered Salmon, Mcdermott, Jim, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061115041250weblink">weblink 15 November 2006, bot: unknown, In his 1908 State of the Union address, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt observed that the fisheries were in significant decline:WEB, Columbia River History: Commercial Fishing, Northwest Power and Conservation Council,weblink 2010, 26 January 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101211190259weblink">weblink 11 December 2010, live, WEB,weblink State of the Union Address Part II by Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Theodore, 8 December 1908, 31 January 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130130021707weblink">weblink 30 January 2013, dead, The salmon fisheries of the Columbia River are now but a fraction of what they were twenty-five years ago, and what they would be now if the United States Government had taken complete charge of them by intervening between Oregon and Washington. During these twenty-five years the fishermen of each State have naturally tried to take all they could get, and the two legislatures have never been able to agree on joint action of any kind adequate in degree for the protection of the fisheries. At the moment the fishing on the Oregon side is practically closed, while there is no limit on the Washington side of any kind, and no one can tell what the courts will decide as to the very statutes under which this action and non-action result. Meanwhile very few salmon reach the spawning grounds, and probably four years hence the fisheries will amount to nothing; and this comes from a struggle between the associated, or gill-net, fishermen on the one hand, and the owners of the fishing wheels up the river.On the Columbia River, the Chief Joseph Dam completed in 1955 completely blocks salmon migration to the upper Columbia River system.The Fraser River salmon population was affected by the 1914 slide caused by the Canadian Pacific Railway at Hells Gate. The 1917 catch was one quarter of the 1913 catch.BOOK, Babcock, John P, 1920, Fraser River Salmon Situation a Reclamation Project,weblink Victoria, B.C, W. H. Cullin., 5, The origin of the word for "salmon" was one of the arguments about the location of the origin of the Indo-European languages.

Commercial fishing

Recreational fishing

Mythology

The salmon is an important creature in several strands of Celtic mythology and poetry, which often associated them with wisdom and venerability. In Irish folklore, fishermen associated salmon with fairies and thought it was unlucky to refer to them by name.BOOK, Ní Fhloinn, Bairbre, Cold Iron Aspects of the occupational lore of Irish fishermen, University College Dublin, 2018, 978-0-9565628-7-6, 105–123, In Irish mythology, a creature called the Salmon of KnowledgeWEB,weblink The Salmon of Knowledge. Celtic Mythology, Fairy Tale, Luminarium.org, 18 January 2007, 1 June 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181116183933weblink">weblink 16 November 2018, live, plays key role in the tale The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn. In the tale, the Salmon will grant powers of knowledge to whoever eats it, and is sought by poet Finn Eces for seven years. Finally Finn Eces catches the fish and gives it to his young pupil, Fionn mac Cumhaill, to prepare it for him. However, Fionn burns his thumb on the salmon's juices, and he instinctively puts it in his mouth. In so doing, he inadvertently gains the Salmon's wisdom. Elsewhere in Irish mythology, the salmon is also one of the incarnations of both Tuan mac CairillWEB,weblink The Story of Tuan mac Cairill, Maryjones.us, 18 March 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100327224754weblink">weblink 27 March 2010, dead, and Fintan mac Bóchra.WEB,weblinkpublished/G109001/index.html, The Colloquy between Fintan and the Hawk of Achill, Ucc.ie, 18 March 2010, https:web.archive.org/web/20181231091226weblink 31 December 2018, live, Salmon also feature in Welsh mythology. In the prose tale Culhwch and Olwen, the Salmon of Llyn Llyw is the oldest animal in Britain, and the only creature who knows the location of Mabon ap Modron. After speaking to a string of other ancient animals who do not know his whereabouts, King Arthur's men Cai and Bedwyr are led to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw, who lets them ride its back to the walls of Mabon's prison in Gloucester.WEB, Parker, Will, Culhwch ac Olwen: A translation of the oldest Arthurian tale,weblink Culhwch ac Olwen, 17 January 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181116154509weblink">weblink 16 November 2018, live, In Norse mythology, after Loki tricked the blind god Höðr into killing his brother Baldr, Loki jumped into a river and transformed himself into a salmon to escape punishment from the other gods. When they held out a net to trap him he attempted to leap over it but was caught by Thor who grabbed him by the tail with his hand, and this is why the salmon's tail is tapered.WEB,weblink The Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows, 27 April 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190506071029weblink">weblink 6 May 2019, live, Salmon are central spiritually and culturally to Native American mythology on the Pacific coast, from the Haida and Coast Salish peoples, to the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples in British Columbia.WEB, Tribal Salmon Culture: Salmon Culture of the Pacific Northwest Tribes,weblink Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission,weblink 13 May 2019, live,

Notes

{{notelist | group = upper-alpha}}

References

Further reading

• Atlas of Pacific Salmon, Xanthippe Augerot and the State of the Salmon Consortium, University of California Press, 2005, hardcover, 152 pages, {{ISBN|0-520-24504-0}}
• Making Salmon: An Environmental History of the Northwest Fisheries Crisis, Joseph E. Taylor III, University of Washington Press, 1999, 488 pages, {{ISBN|0-295-98114-8}}
• Trout and Salmon of North America, Robert J. Behnke, Illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri, The Free Press, 2002, hardcover, 359 pages, {{ISBN|0-7432-2220-2}}
• Come back, salmon, By Molly Cone, Sierra Club Books, 48 pages, {{ISBN|0-87156-572-2}} – A book for juveniles describes the restoration of 'Pigeon Creek'.
• The salmon: their fight for survival, By Anthony Netboy, 1973, Houghton Mifflin Co., 613 pages, {{ISBN|0-395-14013-7}}
• A River Lost, by Blaine Harden, 1996, WW Norton Co., 255 pages, {{ISBN|0-393-31690-4}}. (Historical view of the Columbia River system).
• River of Life, Channel of Death, by Keith C. Peterson, 1995, Confluence Press, 306 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-87071-496-2}}. (Fish and dams on the Lower Snake River.)
• Salmon, by Dr Peter Coates, 2006, {{ISBN|1-86189-295-0}}
• Lackey, Robert T (2000) "Restoring Wild Salmon to the Pacific Northwest: Chasing an Illusion?" In: Patricia Koss and Mike Katz (Eds) What we don't know about Pacific Northwest fish runs: An inquiry into decision-making under uncertainty, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. Pages 91–143.
• Mills D (2001) "Salmonids" In: pp. 252–261, Steele JH, Thorpe SA and Turekian KK (2010) Marine Biology: A Derivative of the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Academic Press. {{ISBN|978-0-08-096480-5}}.
• NEWS January 31, 2007: U.S. Orders Modification of Klamath River – Dams Removal May Prove More Cost-Effective for allowing the passage of Salmon
• Salmon age and sex composition and mean lengths for the Yukon River area, 2004 / by Shawna Karpovich and Larry DuBois. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.
• PSM, Studies in the Natural History of the Sacramento Salmon, 61, July 1902,
• Trading Tails: Linkages Between Russian Salmon Fisheries and East Asian Markets. Shelley Clarke. (November 2007). 120pp. {{ISBN|978-1-85850-230-4}}.
• The Salmons Tale, one of the twelve Ionan Tales by Jim MacCool

External links

{{Commons category|Salmon}}{{Wiktionary}}{{NIE Poster}}

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120511194227weblink">"Last Stand of the American Salmon", G. Bruce Knecht for Men's Journal (archived 11 May 2012)
• Plea for the Wanderer, an NFB documentary on West Coast salmon
• Arctic Salmon on Facebook research project studying Pacific salmon in the Arctic and potential links to climate change
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections â€“ Salmon Collection A collection of documents describing salmon of the Pacific Northwest.
• Salmon Nation A movement to create a bioregional community, based on the historic spawning area of Pacific salmon (CA to AK).
• Arctic Salmon – Pacific salmon distribution and abundance seems to be increasing in the Arctic. Links to a Canadian research project documenting changes in Pacific salmon and studying Pacific salmon ecology in the Arctic.

{{salmon|state=expanded}}{{commercial fish topics}}{{Authority control}}