The SALSEA Vision

SALSEA offers a unique opportunity to increase understanding of how Atlantic salmon use the ocean; where they go; how they use ocean currents, and the ocean’s food resources, and what factors influence migration and distribution at sea. SALSEA seeks to draw together intellectual and scientific resources in a concerted cooperative effort to identify the factors influencing mortality of salmon at sea and the opportunities to counteract them.

For more about this exciting research visit their site:
http://www.nasco.int/sas/salsea.htm

The life cycle of the Atlantic salmon involves migration between fresh and saltwater environments making them what is referred to as an anadromous species. Atlantic salmon adults have a homing ability that enables them to find their way back to the specific river, brook or estuary where they were spawned. In their natal river, the returning fish spawn like their parents before them. After hatching, juveniles rear for 1-4 years before migrating out to the open sea. These small salmon, known as smolt, eventually leave the bays and estuaries in search of feeding grounds. Eventually they become either grilse (1 sea-winter-fish) or salmon (multi sea-winter-fish). Many multi-sea-winter salmon feed and grow off the coast of Greenland while smaller, one-sea-winter grilse, typically stay closer to home feeding off the coast of Newfoundland before returning to inland waters to spawn

Since the Walkerton tragedy, the need for sustainable, integrated watershed management has been recognized by federal, provincial, and municipal agencies, the scientific community, as well as local service district representatives and individual community members and groups. Read the rest of this entry »