Salmon Essay

Every year, millions of salmon from multiple species are born,
bread, caught and harvested by people all around the world. They are
omnivores that typically live for anywhere from three to seven years
and usually reproduce in fresh water. Salmon are valued by many
cultures around the world as a source of food, income, art, literature,
and for being a symbol of vitality and wisdom. They are typically born
in rivers that contain fresh water, and are known for their intelligence
and ability to return to the same fresh water streams they hatched in
to spawn. Salmon use their sense of smell to navigate back to their
original spawning grounds. Others believe they are able to sense and
utilize electromagnetic frequencies to guide them back home. Most
species of salmon are “Anadromous,” which means that they are able
to survive in both fresh and salt waters. They are often found in
tributaries of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and typically migrate
from fresh waters to oceans to spend their adult lives in salt water
conditions. Adult salmon typically spend one to five years in the ocean,
where they mainly feed on zoo plankton, before returning to fresh
waters to spawn. This journey, sometimes hundreds of miles long
against the current, is called a “salmon run.” They are known as a
cultural and ecological keystone species. When salmon spawn and
begin to die, their carcasses decompose and fertilize soil of river
banks and boreal forests of the park. The plants then pass along the
nutrients to the many animals that live and thrive in the region. Salmon
is the most popular fish in the United States. Americans collectively
consume nearly 450,000 tons each year. Meat can be found in most
grocery stores pre packaged and cut into thin slices which can be
eaten as is, or in thicker chunks which require one to cook the meat.
They are classified as oily fish and are considered to be a healthy
source of proteins, high omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D. Salmon are
vital to the ways of life of indigenous communities throughout the
Pacific Northwest. They also find their way onto the plates and
stomachs of people who live near the Atlantic Ocean. Salmon play an
essential role for cultures around the world, as well as the health of
ecosystems, other species of fish, and wildlife.
Salmons have streamlined bodies that typically change colors
throughout their lifetime. There are 7 species of salmon that exist in
the Pacific Ocean and one species that can be found in the Atlantic
Ocean. Pacific salmon undergo noticeable transformations when
returning from oceans to fresh water. Some species of salmon go from
silver to a deep maroon color. Others turn a deep black. Male sockeye
salmon develop humps on their backs. The seven species of Pacific
salmon on average range in length from a foot and a half to two and a
half feet. Atlantic salmon are the largest salmon species and are
known to grow up to four feet in length. While in freshwater, Atlantic
salmon are spotted and brown. They are vulnerable to many threats
and stressors including habitat degradation. They are considered an
indicator species and their health reflects the health of the ecosystem.
When a river ecosystem is clean and well-connected, its salmon
population is typically healthy and robust. When a river ecosystem is
not clean or well-connected- its tributaries are blocked by dams or
land development, for instance- its salmon population will usually
decline. When they migrate to the ocean, their color becomes silver.
In late autumn, Atlantic salmon dig shallow nest for their eggs
called (a redd) in riverbeds. They bury their fertilized eggs under gravel
in reads and leave them over the winter. The eggs hatch the next year
around April to May, and after three to four weeks, the baby salmon
swim up through the gravel to hunt for and provide food for
themselves. Young salmon sometimes spend one to three years in or
near the stream they were born in. When they grow and get to the size
of roughly six inches in length, the migrate to saltwater.Salmon is
fished extensively for food, both recreationally and commercially. The
Atlantic salmon was nearly fished to extinction. The commercial
market is now almost exclusively farm raised-fish. There are three
national fish hatcheries that raise Atlantic salmon to support their
existence in the wild. Hatcheries are facilities where eggs are hatched
under artificial conditions. Their goal is to incubate fertilized eggs and
release resulting offspring when young to grow in the wild.

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Every year, millions of salmon from multiple species are born,

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