salmon

(plural – the same spelling ‘salmon’, or ‘salmons’; pronunciation: letter ‘l’ is silent)

‘Salmon’ is the general name given to any fish with a stream-lined body covered with small, rounded scales, and with a fleshy fin between the back fin and tail.

a male (above) & a female (below) salmon fish in breeding season

a kind of fish – both fresh and salt water dwelling – finned and scaly – medium-sized with very normal drab colour (grey or silver) in non-breeding season and bright colours (pink red) in breeding season, pointed head, typical fish shape, ray-fins; size: the smallest (the ‘masu salmon’) 2½ feet long and weight: 1½-5 Kg., the largest (‘chinook’ or ‘king salmon’) 5-6 feet long and weight: 50-55 Kg; feeds on (eats) small fish, shrimps, crabs, squid, etc; lives for 2-7 years (4-5 years on average); two broad kinds: Atlantic salmon (1 species) and Pacific salmon (8 species) found in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

The salmon fish family includes such fish as ‘char’, ‘grayling’ and ‘whitefish’.
Some common salmon fish are: Chinook/king salmon, sockeye or red/blue salmon, coho or silver salmon, chum/dog salmon, masu salmon.

male ~~ jack, kipper; cock; kelt (in breeding season – when spawning)

female ~~ hen; raun

A salmon which is one year old or which has come back to fresh water for the first time is called a ‘grilse’ in Scottish highland.

baby ~~ alevin; fry; parr; samlet; skegger, smolt

group ~~ run; bind; gib; school; shoal

voice (call) ~~ —

home ~~ redd (nest — a small dip in the gravel on the stream or lake bed (on the bottom))

Special Features:
The salmon is the state fish of three states in the USA: ‘King salmon’ – Alaska State; ‘landlocked Atlantic salmon’ – Maine State and ‘chinook’ – Oregon State.

The salmon is a fascinating salt and fresh water fish: it lives and grows in salt water but lays its eggs in fresh water!

When the eggs hatch in the fresh water, the young migrate to salt water; after living there for 2-3 years on average, and growing to be adults, they return to the same fresh water where they were born, and lay eggs; the young again go to salt water, and again return to the same fresh water to lay eggs – the cycle continues generation after generation!

However, there are some salmon which somehow get into the landlocked water bodies, i.e. they have no chance of going to sea, and such salmon fish spend their entire life in fresh water!!

Return to “sockeye“.

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