The majority of the adult fish migrate back to the ocean after the spawn- 

 ing act is completed. At this time they are known as "kelts." Occasionally one 

 may linger in the river until spring and migrate then at which time they are 

 commonly called "racers" because they are very thin from lack of nourishment 

 during the winter months after spawning. 



The eggs hatch in the pit in from 90 to 120 days depending on the tem- 

 perature. The yolk is absorbed and they are out of the gravel nest in June or 

 July. The larvae make their way up through the gravel by convulsive wiggling. 

 They remain in the stream as fingerlings or parr generally for two years. Thus 

 a salmon river must have sufficient nursery areas where the fingerlings or parr 

 can find adequate food in the form of aquatic insects and smaller fish and where 

 they will be safest from their enemies. At the end of their period in the stream 

 they begin to drop downstream and also to lose their parr markings. The sal- 

 mon in this stage are known as "smolts." The average length at this time is from 

 6 to 8 inches. The smolt reaches the sea where it will spend two growing sea- 

 sons. Here in the salt water the salmon makes phenomenal growth before re- 

 turning to the fresh-water rivers to spawn. Their primary food as adults is other 

 fish. 



The average length of an adult returning to spawn in Maine is about 2^ 

 feet. At the end of one year they are about 1 >^ inches, at the end of two years 

 in the stream about 4.3 inches, and at the end of three years in the stream about 

 6 inches in length. 



LANDLOCKED SALMON 



Salmo salar sebago Girard 



The landlocked salmon is native to Maine. They were originally restricted 

 in distribution to four widely separated areas j Grand Lake and other lakes 

 on the western branch of the St. Croix River in Washington County j Green Lake 

 or Reed's Pond, tributary of Union River in Hancock County j Sebec Lake, tribu- 

 tary to the Piscataquis and Penobscot rivers in Piscataquis County j and Sebago 

 Lake, tributary to the Presumpscot River in Cumberland County. The land- 

 locked salmon has become widely distributed throughout the state as a result of 

 the stocking program begun as early as 1875. 



Landlocked salmon spawn naturally in the tributary streams to the lakes 

 they inhabit. If for one reason or another the mature adults cannot reach the 

 tributaries they may go through the act of spawning on gravelly shoal areas in 

 the lake itself. Hatching from nests made in the lake itself are thought to be 

 inconsequential. The preparation of the redd or nest is very similar to that of 

 the Atlantic salmon already described. Apparently, although the percentage is 

 still low, a greater number of landlocked salmon than Atlantic salmon return 

 to spawn a second time. To date the most that any salmon has been recorded 

 spawning is five times. Three hundred fish examined on a spawning run showed 



20 



