The Salmon Lifecycle

A life of transformation

Atlantic salmon are anadromous, migratory fish which means they spend part of their life in the ocean but they breed and lay their eggs in freshwater. Distinct changes take place to salmon at each stage of their lifecycle. In fact, it was not until the first part of the 19th Century that it was proven that the adult Atlantic salmon was the same species as the small striped juvenile ‘parr’ found in the rivers.

The various life stages of the wild Atlantic salmon are detailed in the image below.

This underwater video footage captured by our team member, Chris Conroy, shows wild salmon parr in the river, smolts on their way to sea, and finally adults returning to spawn.