>('_') Salmon ('_')<
By: Evan Hall 5th Hour ASL
Native Salmon
Great Lake Salmon
More On Salmon In the Great Lakes
When salmon are born, they are born in freshwater and they are completely adapted to freshwater. Then they make their migration out toward the ocean. In the estuary (where freshwater and saltwater mix), they undergo a major life change called smoltification, which prepares them for life in salt water. Young salmon may spend up to several months making this change in the estuary. But after they have become smolts, they are adapted to salt water, and they will begin their life in the ocean, which may take several years, depending on the species. Adult salmon spawn in October and November using the inlet or outlet streams of their resident lake. Salmon are very important to our ecosystem because they provide a major amount of money to the local fish markets and since some salmon (chinook salmon) reduce the amount of alewife, which is good because alewife consume a majority of food for other fish to feed on. Smelt and alewives make up the chinook salmon, also young salmon eat aquatic insects. Little alevins feed off the yolk sacks for their consumption.Most salmon is consumed by humans because the great taste and the rich flavor contained inside.