The female digs the egg pit by turning on her side and flapping 

 vigorously with the caudal fin and peduncle. Most of the digging is the 

 result of the water currents created rather than the actual contact of 

 the body. Digging activity is alternated with frequent rest periods. The 

 male spends his time courting the female or driving away smaller or 

 less vigorous males from the area. When the egg pit is finished the fe- 

 male settles into the depression, the male swims into position beside 

 her, and the eggs and milt are extruded into the pit. Eddy currents in 

 the egg pit mix the eggs and sperm for efficient fertilization and hold 

 the eggs in the pit until the female can cover them with gravel. Fre- 

 quently the male salmon parr (4 to 6 inches in length) mature early and 

 participate in the spawning act. Experiments have demonstrated that 

 parr-fertilized eggs are just as viable as if fertilized by an adult male. 

 When spawning is completed in the first egg pit the female moves up- 

 stream to dig the second pit. As the gravel is displaced it is carried 

 downstream to cover eggs in the pit below. A ten-pound female will 

 normally deposit about 8,000 eggs. A completed salmon nest will meas- 

 ure from 3 to 20 feet in length and from 2 to 3 feet in width. Eggs are 

 usually buried 5 to 6 inches deep, but may be found as deep as 10 

 inches. 



After spawning the adults (called kelts at this time) for the most 

 part migrate back to the ocean. However, some remain overwinter in 

 fresh water and return to the ocean in the spring. These thin dark fish 

 are called blacks or racers and are taken by anglers in the early spring. 



The thick-walled eggs develop slowly in their gravel nest as cold 

 water percolates through the egg pits keeping the eggs moist and supplied 

 with oxygen. Young salmon hatch from the egg during late March or 

 early April but will remain in the gravel for about six weeks until the 

 yolk sac is absorbed. Then the fry, as these little salmon are called, 

 wiggle up between the stones and begin to swim and feed. As growth 

 continues the small salmon are called parr because of the dark stripes 

 or parr-marks on their sides. Salmon parr remain in freshwater streams 

 for two or three years. Thus the best salmon rivers must provide exten- 

 sive nursery areas where young fish can find sufficient food and good 

 protection from predators. Salmon parr are able to withstand higher 

 temperatures than brook trout and consequently may be found through- 

 out the summer in the riffie areas of our larger rivers when trout have 

 migrated to colder waters. As the time to leave the freshwater life ap- 

 proaches parr turn silvery and are known as smolts. Smolts, from 5 to 

 9 inches in length, migrate to the ocean where they usually spend two 

 years. It is during this period that the Atlantic salmon makes its rapid 

 growth. As the salmon becomes mature the life cycle is completed with 

 the spawning migration to fresh water. Most salmon return to the 

 stream in which they were spawned and reared. 



Atlantic salmon average about IVi inches at the end of the first 

 summer, AVi inches at the end of the second, and 7 inches at the end of 



28 



