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Species Fact Sheets Salmo salar (Linnaeus, 1758)

Salmo salar: (click for more) Salmo salar: (click for more)

Synonyms Salmo nobilis Olafsen, 1772: 83. Salmo hamatus Cuvier, 1829: 303. Salmo ocla Nilsson, 1832: 4. Salmo brevipes Smitt, 1883: 32. Salmo salar var. nobilis Smitt, 1895: 849. Salmo salar brevipes Berg, 1932: 141.

FAO Names En - Atlantic salmon, Fr - Saumon de l'Atlantique, Sp - Salmón del Atlántico. 3Alpha Code: SAL Taxonomic Code: 1230100401

Diagnostic Features Body elongate, but becoming deeper with age, caudal peduncle slender, the fish easily grasped by it. Tip of upper jaw reaching to hind margin of eye, but not beyond; jaws in adult males become greatly hooked just before and during breeding. A staggered line of teeth on shaft of vomer, but none on head of vomer. Gillrakers 17-24. Dorsal finrays iii-iv + 9-12, and an adipose fin behind it; pelvic finray i-ii (7) 8-9, base below latter half of dorsal fin. Anal finrays iii-iv + 7-9 (10). Caudal fin fairly deeply forked. Scales small, 114-130 in lateral line, 11-15 obliquely from adipose fin to lateral line. Vertebrae 59-60. Colour back brown, or green/blue, flanks silvery, belly white; back and flanks above lateral line (rarely below it) with X-shaped black spots; in freshwater, flanks greenish or brown, mottled with red or orange and with large dark spots with lighter edges.

Geographical Distribution

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Atlantic coasts of Europe, from Barents Sea, northern Norway and Baltic southward to northern Portugal, also around Iceland and southern Greenland; not in Mediterranean. Elsewhere, coasts of Canada and North America.

Habitat and Biology Anadromous, adults in sea not forming shoals, making considerable migrations, often transatlantic (but life in sea not well known).Young remain in freshwater for 2-3 years, then migrate to the ocean for one or more years before returning to freshwater to spawn. Does not die after spawning but returns to the ocean. Active mainly during the day.Feeds at sea, crustaceans and small fishes (herring, sprat, sand-eels, capelin, small gadids); in freshwater, adults do not feed, but juveniles take mainly aquatic larvae of insects. Spawning runs April to August, the adults ascending far upstream, but not actually spawning until October- December at 5-6 years of age.

Size To about 150 cm and 39 kg or more; usually 40-130 cm.

Interest to Fisheries Caught by gillnets ("salmon fishing") and trawl nets. Also important for game fishing. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 4 287 t. The countries with the largest catches were Finland (914 t) and Ireland (511 t). Marketed fresh, dried/salted, smoked and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled, microwaved and baked.

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Global Capture Production for species (tonnes) Source: FAO FishStat 20k

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Global Aquaculture Production for species (tonnes) Source: FAO FishStat 3M

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Local Names Catalan : Salmó . Czech : Losos atlantsky . Danish : Atlantisk laks , Laks , Skaellaks . Dutch : Zalm . English : Atlantic salmon , Salmon . Finnish : Lohi . French : Saumon Atlantique . Gaelic/Irish : Bradan . German : Echter lachs , Lachs , Las , Salm . Greek : Salomós . FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Icelandic : Lax . Italian : Salmo , Salmone , Salmone del reno . Japanese : Sake masu-rui . Manx : Braddan . Norwegian : Laks , Laks (atlantisk) , Lax . Polish : Losos , Losos szlachetny atlantycki . Portuguese : Salmao , Salmao do atlântico . Russian : Losos . Serbo-Croat : Losos , Salmon . Spanish : Salmón , Salmón del Atlántico . Swedish : Lax . Turkish : Alabalik (atlantik) .

Related links Check this species at FishBase

Bibliography Alegre, M., J. Lleonart & J. Veny. - 1992Espècies Pesqueres d'interès comercial. Nomenclatura oficial catalana. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Cultura, DARP, TERMCAT. 64 pp. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2003. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org Scott, W.B. & E.J. Crossman. - 1973Freshwater Fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184: 966 pp. Svetovidov, A.N. - 1973 Salmonidae. In: J. C. Hureau & Th. Monod (eds.). Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). Unesco, Paris. Vol. I: 145-151. Svetovidov, A.N. - 1984 Salmonidae. In: P.J.P. Whitehead et al., (eds.). Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (FNAM). Unesco, Paris, vol. I: 373-385. Wheeler, A. - 1978Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe. A guide to the identification of more than 350 species. Frederick Warne (Publishers) Ltd., London. 380 pp.

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