---
title: "What the sources say about the Atlantic Salmon | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "42 claims from the Atlantic Salmon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/atlantic-salmon-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/atlantic-salmon/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Atlantic Salmon (*Salmo salar*)

> 42 claims from the Atlantic Salmon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Atlantic Salmon](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/atlantic-salmon/)

## Sayer (2024). Salmo salar. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T19855A212864916.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t19855a212864916.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List lists the species as Near Threatened, in an assessment published in 2024. | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). (note: category read via GBIF's copy; publication year 2024 is the DOI's edition (2024-2); the prefetch's 2023 assessment date is not in any cached text, so the page gives only the publication year) |
| Near Threatened | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). |

## Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon). FishBase.

https://www.fishbase.de/summary/Salmo-salar.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Gravel-bottomed rivers from northern Quebec to New York and across northern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean. | Spawns at 6-10°C (Ref. 89464 ) in gravel river areas far upstream |
| Gravel-bottomed rivers from northern Quebec to New York and across northern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean. | North Atlantic Ocean: temperate and arctic zones in northern hemisphere |
| Gravel-bottomed rivers from northern Quebec to New York and across northern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean. | Atlantic drainages from northern Quebec, Canada, to Connecticut and New York, USA ... Eastern Atlantic: White and Barents Sea basins through northeastern Europe to the Baltic and North Sea basins, including Iceland |
| Mainly aquatic insects, crustaceans and fish as a juvenile; squid, shrimp and fish at sea. | Juveniles feed mainly on aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans and fish; adults at sea feed on squids, shrimps, and fish |
| FishBase adds that adults are known to return to the river where they were born, and even to its specific natal site. | known to return from the ocean to the river where it was born, and even to its specific natal site |
| FishBase gives the western range as rivers from northern Quebec to Connecticut and New York | Atlantic drainages from northern Quebec, Canada, to Connecticut and New York, USA |
| In the east, their rivers run from the White Sea and Barents Sea coasts across northeastern Europe to the Baltic and North Sea, and Iceland has them too. | White and Barents Sea basins through northeastern Europe to the Baltic and North Sea basins, including Iceland |
| FishBase says young salmon stay in fresh water for 1 to 6 years, then spend 1 to 4 years in coastal seas or the open ocean. | Young remain in freshwater for 1 to 6 years, then migrate to coastal marine waters or even to open oceans where they remain for 1 to 4 years |
| Young salmon mainly eat aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans and fish. | Juveniles feed mainly on aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans and fish |
| At sea, adults feed on squid, shrimp and fish. | adults at sea feed on squids, shrimps, and fish |
| FishBase lists a maximum length of 150 cm and a maximum published weight of 46.8 kg | Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251 ); 120.0 cm TL (female); common length : 38.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3561 ); max. published weight: 46.8 kg |
| FishBase reports that the species lives up to 10 years, though most reach only 4 to 6. | reported to live up to 10 years, but most individuals only reach 4-6 years |
| The oldest age it lists is 13 years. | max. reported age: 13 years |
| Breeding males grow elongated, hooked jaws. | males are characterized by elongated hooked jaws that meet at the tips |
| A female picks gravel of the right size and digs a nest, called a redd, by turning on her side and flexing her body up and down. | The female selects a site where the gravel is of the right size ... The female digs a depression ("redd") by turning on her side and flexing her body up and down |
| FishBase says she releases between 8,000 and 25,000 eggs in a season. | A female releases between 8,000-25,000 eggs during a spawning season |
| FishBase says some females survive and return to the sea, about 0.3 to 6 percent of returning females spawn a second time, and in short rivers some individuals may spawn for up to six seasons. | 10-40% of females may survive and return to the sea in autumn ... Of the returning females, about 0.3-6 % spawn a second time ... In short rivers with presumably less exhaustive upstream migration, up to 34% of returning individuals spawn a second time; some individuals may spawn for up to six seasons |
| Most individuals reach only 4 to 6 years, says FishBase, though some are reported to live up to 10. | reported to live up to 10 years, but most individuals only reach 4-6 years |
| Its maximum reported age is 13 years. | max. reported age: 13 years |
| FishBase gives maximums of 150 cm and 46.8 kg, yet its common length for the species is 38 cm. | Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251 ); 120.0 cm TL (female); common length : 38.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3561 ); max. published weight: 46.8 kg |
| Most males do, FishBase says, but 10 to 40 percent of females may survive and head back to sea. In short rivers, some individuals may spawn for up to six seasons. | Most males die after spawning, while 10-40% of females may survive and return to the sea in autumn ... In short rivers with presumably less exhaustive upstream migration, up to 34% of returning individuals spawn a second time; some individuals may spawn for up to six seasons |
| Two lives in one fish | Amphihaline species, spending most of its life in freshwater ... Young remain in freshwater for 1 to 6 years, then migrate to coastal marine waters or even to open oceans |
| Some salmon survive spawning. | females may survive and return to the sea |
| The range is the North Atlantic. | North Atlantic Ocean: temperate and arctic zones in northern hemisphere |

## Atlantic Salmon. NOAA Fisheries.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-salmon

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Hatches in a river, grows up in the ocean, and finds its way home by the chemistry of its birth stream. | During smoltification, Atlantic salmon imprint on the chemical nature of their stream or river to enable them to find their way back to where they were born. |
| Imprints on the chemical signature of its home stream, then uses it to find the way back from the sea. | During smoltification, Atlantic salmon imprint on the chemical nature of their stream or river to enable them to find their way back to where they were born. |
| An Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is born in a river, grows up at sea, and swims back to the river it hatched in. | hatch in freshwater rivers, migrate to the ocean where they mature, and then return to their natal freshwater rivers to spawn |
| NOAA says the trick happens during smoltification, the change that readies a young salmon for salt water: the fish imprints on the chemical nature of its home stream to find its way back. | This physiological transformation is called smoltification and prepares the salmon for life in a saltwater marine environment. ... During smoltification, Atlantic salmon imprint on the chemical nature of their stream or river to enable them to find their way back to where they were born. |
| but NOAA said in 2026 that the only wild US populations left are in central and eastern Maine. | Currently, the only remaining wild populations of U.S. Atlantic salmon are found in rivers in central and eastern Maine. (note: 2026 is the page's own update date, cited in the next claim) |
| but NOAA said in 2026 that the only wild US populations left are in central and eastern Maine. | Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 06/29/2026 |
| NOAA says salmon born in Maine reach the seas off Newfoundland and Labrador by mid-summer, then spend their first winter south of Greenland. | salmon leave Maine rivers as smolts in the spring and reach the seas off Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, by mid-summer. They spend their first winter at sea south of Greenland |
| NOAA says parr are about 2 inches long and wear spots and vertical bars as camouflage. | Parr are approximately 2 inches long and camouflaged with spots and vertical bars to protect them from predators. |
| NOAA says an adult that has spent 2 years at sea averages 28 to 30 inches long and 8 to 12 pounds. | After 2 years at sea, adult salmon can grow to an average length of 28 to 30 inches and weight of 8 to 12 pounds. |
| NOAA explains that while a young salmon turns into a smolt, it imprints on the chemical nature of its home water, which enables it to return there to spawn after its time at sea. | During smoltification, Atlantic salmon imprint on the chemical nature of their stream or river to enable them to find their way back to where they were born. ... After 1 to 3 years at sea, adult Atlantic salmon return to the streams and rivers between May and October where they were born to spawn |
| In the river, the young are called parr. | the fry continue to feed and grow, transitioning into the parr stage |
| Size depends on how long the fish spends at sea. | The size of adults returning to freshwater from the ocean depends on how long they lived at sea. |

## Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Salmo_salar/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| ADW notes that scientists are not exactly sure how salmon do it, though most think the smell of the parent stream guides them home. | Scientists are not exactly sure how salmon complete this incredible feat ... Most feel that salmon are guided home by the characteristic odor of the parent stream |
| ADW says salmon stop feeding before spawning and do not eat once they re-enter fresh water, despite seeming willing to take an artificial fly. | Prior to spawning, salmon cease to feed; they do not eat after they re-enter fresh water to spawn, despite their apparent willingness to take an artificial fly |
| ADW gives a range of 2.3 to 9.1 kg for sea-run salmon. | Sea-run salmon range from 2.3 to 9.1 kg |
| ADW notes a rod-caught world record of 35.89 kg from Norway's Tana River. | The world record rod-caught Atlantic salmon weighed 35.89 kg and was caught in the Tana River of Norway. |