Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Scientific name: Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is a freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 2–9°C (36–48°F).

Atlantic salmon care at a glance

Temperature
2–9°C (36–48°F)

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 3 - 4; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-15; Anal spines: 3 - 4; Anal soft rays: 7 - 11; Vertebrae: 58 - 61. Distinguished from congeners in Atlantic, North, White, Barents and Baltic Sea basins by having the following unique characters: 10-13 scales between end of adipose base and lateral line; 17-24 gill rakers. Additional characters distinguish salmon parrs from trout include: caudal fin deeply forked in individuals smaller than 20 cm SL; hyaline or grey adipose margin. Adult salmon differ uniquely from sea trout by having a posterior part of vomer toothless. Fusiform body. Mouth extends only to area below rear of eye and has well developed teeth. Vomerine teeth weak. Caudal fin with 19 rays. Little scales. Adults are blue-green colored with a silvery coating and a few spots in salt water; no spots under lateral line. During reproducti

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Salmo salar
Family
Salmonidae (Salmonids)
Order
Salmoniformes (Salmons)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
150
Common length
38.0
Depth range
0–210 m (0–689 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; anadromous; depth range 0 - 210 m, usually ? - 10 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Atlantic Ocean: temperate and arctic zones in northern hemisphere. In western Atlantic Ocean distributed in coast drainages from northern Quebec in Canada to Connecticut in USA. Landlocked stocks are present in North America. Eastern Atlantic Ocean: Atlantic, North, White, Barents and Baltic Sea basins from Minho (Portugual, Spain) to Kara drainages (Kara Sea, Western Siberia). Present in Iceland and in northernmost rivers of Great Britain and Scandinavia. Landlocked populations known from souther Finland, Lakes Vanern (Sweden), Lagoda, Onega, some small lakes in Vyg and Kem drainages, White Sea basin (Russia) and from souther Norway. Main foraging areas along west coast of southern Greenland and north of Faroe Islands, Baltic populations do not leave this sea. Historical records from Duero, Tagus and Guadiana (Portugal, Spain) where now extirpated. Introduced to New Zealand, Chile, southern Argentina and Austral
Conservation status (IUCN)
Lower Risk: least concern (LR/lc)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.29-0.76; tm=3-5; tmax=14; Fec=8,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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