Fishes of the Western NortJi Atlantic 473 



evidence that Atlantic Salmon travel from one side of the Atlantic to the other. This 

 fish, tagged at Loch na Croie, Blackwater River, Ross-shire, Scotland, on November 

 23, 1955, was recaptured in Eqalug Fjord, south of Sukkertoppen, Greenland (64° 

 56.5' N, 52°02'W) on October 15, 1956 (J05). It is a matter of speculation whether 

 Atlantic Salmon from Europe and eastern North America intermingle in the mid- 

 Atlantic, as do salmon of Asian and North American origin over a broad area of the 

 Pacific high seas, at least between i6o°W— lyo^E (6). 



The farthest any American Atlantic Salmon is known to have traveled is from 

 the Annapolis River on the Bay coast of Nova Scotia to Ramah in northern Labrador, 

 a journey of about 1,900 miles accomplished in nearly two years {62: 105); there are 

 also many other records, though not as spectacular, of fish traveling hundreds of miles 

 both here and in Europe {iS). Blair has reported a distance of 792 miles for a grilse 

 and of 785 miles for an older Salmon tagged at sea off" Bonavista, Newfoundland {21). 

 In Europe, two fish from Norway swam impressive distances of 1,600 and nearly 1,200 

 miles round the North Cape to the White Sea and to the Pechora River {102), which 

 is believed to be the eastern limit for the distribution of Salmo salar. In the Baltic, 

 Atlantic Salmon cover as much as 800 miles from their native rivers to their feeding 

 grounds (102). The one tagged in Scotland and recovered in Greenland had traveled 

 1,730 miles in less than one year. 



There appears to be general agreement that Atlantic Salmon feed in the mid- 

 depths (18) \ that is, the bulk of them is neither on the bottom nor at the surface; how- 

 ever, some have been taken in both situations. In February and June 1948, 130 full- 

 grown Salmon averaging 1 1 pounds were netted by mackerel fishermen about 1 00 

 miles west of Land's End, Cornwall, England, within 10 fms. of the surface (22). 

 Evidence of their occurrence on bottom is found in reports that trawlers have taken 

 strays on offshore fishing banks at depths of 50 fms. (18) and 70 fms. (Jj). Dr. Hunts- 

 man was told by a fisherman of Sandy Cove, Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, that he once 

 caught an Atlantic Salmon at 35 fms., on a handline, when he expected to take a 

 pollock. Menzies has reported the capture of smolts in 65—70 fms. of water by trawlers 

 off Scotland (lod). There is no factual support, however, from fish actually taken, 

 for Roule's belief, often quoted, that Salmon pass their growth period at sea, deep down 

 the continental slope. 



Huntsman says that after Atlantic Salmon have become fat and when the water 

 is not too cold, they roam to and fro near the surface; it is during these movements 

 that they are taken in drift nets (6g). 



Return of Salmon to their Natal Rivers. The belief that Salmon return to their natal 

 river is very old. Isaac Walton reported that many in his day believed that 'every 

 salmon usually returns to the same river in which it was bred.' Scheer {lig) has con- 

 cluded: "The hypothesis most compatible with these facts is that anadromous salmon 

 hatched and reared in a particular region will, when seeking freshwater, seek out and 

 return in the great majority of cases to the same region, even from considerable dis- 

 tances." From what distance, under what conditions, and to what extent Atlantic Salmon 



