The Life Cycle of Salmon

The Life Cycle of Salmon

1. The female salmon lays her eggs in a nest, called a redd. She uses her tail to dig around the gravel in the stream to protect the eggs from hungry animals. The eggs need to stay cool and clean, and the fresh water washes over them. Salmon eggs are tiny and soft. The eggs are a reddish-orange color. Each egg contains an embryo that has a yolk sack attached.
2. Once the eggs hatch, they are alevins. They hatch in early spring. Their bodies are only about one inch long. They don't have fins and they can't swim at all. They need to watch out for bigger fish and birds, which are both predators. 
3. Fry is the next stage. Fry have fins, teeth and scales. They are twice as big as alevins are, and fry must eat a lot so they can continue to grow. At first, fry eat plankton. Plankton are tiny plants and animals floating around in the water. As fry grow, they start eating larger food like insects and fish eggs.
4. Smolts are the next stage. This is when they are between 1 and 6 inches. Smolts migrate from fresh water to salt water. Smolts migrate during their first few months of their lives.
5. The next stage is fully grown. After spending one to seven years in the ocean they go back to  their river. They must mate before they return to the river. The long journey is called a salmon run.