Salmon are anadromous, which means they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce. Superstition has it that the fish return to the exact spot where they were born to spawn but modern research shows that usually at least ninety percent of the fish spawning in a stream were born there. In Alaska, the crossing over to other streams allows salmon to populate new streams, such as those that emerge as a glaciers. The precise method salmon use to navigate has not been entirely established, though their keen sense of smell is used. With all species of Pacific salmon, the mature individuals die within a few days or weeks of spawning, a trait known as semelparity. In those species of salmon that may survive to spawn more than once, post-spawning mortality is up to forty to fifty percent in some cases. Those species average about two or three spawning events per individual.

Salmon aquaculture is the major economic contributor to the world production of farmed fish, representing over one billion U.S. dollars annually. Other commonly cultured fish species include tilapia, catfish, sea bass, carp, bream, and trout. Salmon farming is very big in Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Canada, and Chile and is the source for most salmon consumed in America and Europe.

Many wild Salmon stocks have seen a marked decline in recent decades, especially the North Atlantic populations which spawn in Western European waters. The cause of this decline is not well understood but is likely to include a number of factors including overfishing in general but especially commercial netting in Canadian waters and Greenland.


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