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Atlantic Salmon Facts & Worksheets

The Atlantic Salmon is a species of fish well-known for its long migrations and significant bodily changes as it moves from fresh to salt water and back again.

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The Atlantic salmon is a well-known species in the North Atlantic Ocean, where it has historically supported large fisheries. North American, European, and Baltic Atlantic salmon populations are all different. This species, like all salmons, is known for long migrations and significant physiological changes as it transitions from freshwater rivers to coastal seas and back to freshwater rivers.

See the fact file below for more information on Atlantic Salmon, or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Atlantic Salmon worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Fishy Facts

  • Atlantic salmon populations have a lifespan of 5 to 13 years.
  • Atlantic salmon use their sense of taste, smell, and hearing to communicate and find their way home. When young Atlantic salmons are searching for food, most scientists believe they use their sense of smell to remember the odor of the mainstream.
  • The body length of an adult Atlantic salmon can range from 71 to 102 cm. This range is roughly equivalent to 28-40 inches.
  • An Atlantic salmon can weigh anywhere from 4-5 kg. They’re at least five times the weight of a Pacific herring. 
  • However, the largest Atlantic salmon ever caught weighed 36 kg, more than twice as much as a Pacific salmon and twice as much as a trout.
  • The Atlantic salmon is a predatory fish. They eat herrings, cod, and other fish such as mackerel and capelin. Atlantic salmons eat other invertebrates when they’re young. This wild fish also consumes crustaceans such as amphipods.
  • Atlantic salmon will never make a good pet due to its length and preference for freshwater and river environments. Home aquariums will not be suitable for keeping them as a pet or petting zoo animals.
  • The body of an Atlantic salmon resembles a spindle, with rounded ends, and a broad middle. Salmon species have a shape that is slightly flattened toward the sides.
  • The head is approximately one-fifth the length of the body. Particularly on juveniles, the underside paired fins are prominent.
  • After entering freshwater, spawning adults turn a bronze color, which darkens even more after spawning. They are often referred to as kelts or black salmon after spawning. Once they re-enter the sea, their silver color returns.

Habitat

  • The Atlantic salmon is the Atlantic Ocean’s only native species.
  • North American, European, and Baltic wild Atlantic salmon are the three types. The North American group, which included both Canadian and American populations were once found from northern Quebec to Newfoundland and southwest to Long Island Sound.
  • Atlantic salmon used to be found in nearly every river north of the Hudson River in the United States. The majority of New England’s native populations have been wiped out due to industrial and agricultural development (including habitat destruction, dams, and historic overfishing). Maine is now home to the United States’ only native population of Atlantic salmon.
  • Changes easily influence the species’ distribution in freshwater habitat and climate. The fur trade, timber harvesting, dams and mills and agriculture led to the extirpation of early-run salmon. The inshore Atlantic salmon fishery became a major export of the New World, with major fishing operations establishing along the shores of major river systems.

Lifecycle

  • The majority of Atlantic salmon are anadromous, which means they feed and grow best in salt water. However, adults return to spawn in freshwater streams, where the eggs hatch and juveniles grow through several stages.

Egg Stage

  • Reddish-orange eggs. To protect themselves from predators, they hide beneath the gravel in fast-moving streams.
  • Incubation can last up to 50 days and takes longer in colder water. The egg hatches and produces an alevin at the end of the incubation period. 

Alevin

  • The alevins have a yolk sac that contains nutrients that keep them alive for weeks or months, depending on water temperatures. Because they can’t swim and are highly vulnerable to predators, they must rely on their ability to hide under gravel in the streambed to avoid being eaten. 

Fry

  • Fry is an alevin that has absorbed its yolk sac. They can now swim and must leave the safety of the gravel streambed to seek food. They’ll spend 1-3 years in their natal burn before embarking on their journey to the sea.

Parr

  • A parr or fingerling is a 2-inch long fry. Parr is highly vulnerable to predators such as native trout, herons, mink, and goosanders. The parr develop distinct markings called “parr marks” that serve as camouflage to help them avoid predation.

Smolt

  • Smolts are salmon in the early stages of development that appear silver to provide camouflage during their transition to the sea. The fish has now made its way to coastal estuaries and is adjusting to the physiological changes required to survive in saltwater. 

Adult

  • Once they reach their feeding grounds off the west coast of Greenland, they proliferate and stay for 2-4 years. Adult Atlantic salmon weigh about 2-3 kilograms, while larger fish weigh between 3 and 10 kilograms and can get up to 20 kilograms. Before finding a mate and spawning, this period may last only a few weeks or as long as ten months.

Spawning

  • Adult salmon can stay at sea for up to a year before returning to the freshwater.
  • Spawning occurs at the end of the year when the water temperature is cooler. The larger, older, older salmon that return earlier in the year has spent more than a year feeding at sea.
  • Salmon need clean, well-oxygenated rivers and a gravel bed to bury their eggs in. Visual and chemical signals help male and female salmon simultaneously. The female releases pheromones, which the males detect. A single female’s eggs can be fertilized by up to ten mature male parr.

Anatomy of an Atlantic Salmon

  • EXTERNAL PARTS
    • Dorsal fin provides balance and steering control.
    • Adipose fin has no known function; however, it is frequently clipped to distinguish hatchery fish from wild fish.
    • Pectoral fins helps with stability, maneuverability, and braking.
    • Pelvic fins helps with braking, maneuvering, and stabilization.
    • Anal fin is the part that maintains Atlantic Salmon’s equilibrium.
    • The Caudal fin, also called the Tail fin, is the primary source of propulsion. Females dig their redds with their caudal fin (nest).
    • Fish use their nostrils to smell rather than breathe.
    • Fish eyes can see to the left and right simultaneously and move independently.
    • The mouth allows the fish to eat. Salmon have teeth, but some of them are bigger than others.
    • The operculum or the Gill Cover protects the gills in the same way that the rib cage protects the lungs in humans.
    • A lateral line runs down the middle of the fish. The line is punctured with small holes to help the fish detect vibrations in the water, which assist fish in detecting the movements of other aquatic animals and objects.
  • INTERNAL PARTS
    • The brain coordinates the messages received from the sensory organs about the environment.
    • Salmon have eight gills, four on each side of the head. A bony arch fringed with thin-walled tissues known as gill filaments makes up each gill. Water is pumped into the mouth and then pushed through the gills.
    • Rakers are attached to the gill arch to direct food to the throat while preventing it from entering the gills.
    • Salmon have two kidneys that are attached to each other. Kidneys aid in the fluid and chemical balance of the body. The front kidney makes and replaces red blood cells, while the back kidney filters blood waste.
    • Ovary/Testes are responsible to produce the next generation of Atlantic Salmon.
    • The spinal cord runs parallel to the backbone and is connected to the rest of the body by nerves.
    • The swim bladder is a gas-filled bladder used to control buoyancy, whereas an empty bladder allows the fish to move deeper into it.
    • The urinary bladder is a receptacle that collects urine from the kidneys.
    • The vent is responsible for releasing undigested materials and eggs and sperm.
    • Intestine is where nutrients are absorbed and waste is transformed into feces.
    • Spleen is the blood storage facility as well as a recycling facility for worn-out red blood cells. It also produces white blood cells, which help the body fight infection and disease.
    • Stomach stores food and uses digestive juices to begin digestion.
    • Pyloric Caeca is a special intestinal pouch where the fish digests and absorbs most of its food.
    • Atlantic Salmon has 4 chambered hearts that is responsible in receiving and pumping blood.
    • The liver is the salmon’s largest organ, synthesizing and secreting the essential nutrients found in food. It also aids in the regulation of blood chemicals and sugars. It also produces green bile, which is used to digest fats in food.
    • The gallbladder is where the liver’s green bile is stored.

Threats to Atlantic Salmon

  • Atlantic salmon populations face several threats. The most serious threats to their survival include obstructions to quality habitats, such as dams and culverts, low freshwater productivity, ongoing fisheries off the coasts of Greenland, and changing sea conditions. Salmon are also threatened by various other factors, including poor water quality degraded freshwater habitats as a result of land use practices, fish diseases, predation from introduced and invasive species, and interbreeding with escaped fish raised on commercial aquaculture farms. Climate change worsens all of these factors, making Atlantic salmon the region’s most vulnerable finfish.

Atlantic Salmon vs. Pacific Salmon

  • Although Atlantic and Pacific salmon belong to the same family of fish, their members of the genus are different, making them distinct species. Although the Pacific chinook salmon is larger than the Atlantic salmon, the wild Atlantic salmon has a better flavor than the Pacific salmon varieties.
  • The Atlantic salmon is classified as Salmo salar, while the Pacific salmon is classified as Oncorhynchus. 
  • There is only one species of Atlantic salmon. King or chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Chum salmon, Pink salmon, and Sockeye salmon are the five species of Pacific salmon.
  • As their names suggest, they come from and live in two different oceans. The Atlantic Ocean is home to wild Atlantics, and the Pacific Ocean is home to Pacifics. It is because of the natural differences in habitat that they have evolved into the various salmon species we see today. 
  • As a result, Atlantic salmon can only be found along the US and Canadian east coasts, as well as in their tributaries. In contrast, Pacific salmon can only be found along the US and Canadian west coasts, as well as in their tributaries.
  • The coloration of salmon depends entirely on the type of salmon, as well as salinity, depth, and light intensity underwater. Atlantic and Pacific salmon look alike as long as they live in saltwater or the depths of the Great Lakes. All salmon species undergo significant physiological changes once they enter freshwater, giving them distinct appearances.

Atlantic Salmon Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Atlantic Salmon across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Atlantic Salmon, which is a species of fish well-known for its long migrations and significant physiological changes as it transitions from freshwater rivers to coastal seas and back to freshwater rivers.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  • Atlantic Salmon Facts 
  • Outside the Salmon
  • Inside the Salmon
  • Salmon Says
  • Atlantic Crossing
  • Life Salmon
  • Describing Life
  • Unscramble Salmon
  • Helping Salmon
  • Habitat Map
  • Comparing Salmon

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Atlantic Salmon a good fish to eat?

Atlantic salmon is a healthy source of lean protein and healthy fats. Both wild and farmed Atlantic salmon offer good health benefits, especially through omega-3 fatty acids and being a high source of protein.

Is Atlantic Salmon bad for you?

Some researchers suggest that eating Atlantic salmon could pose some health risks because they are carnivorous fish. This means toxins can accumulate up the food chain and end up in higher concentrations in the salmon meat. Pollution in the oceans also means salmon could have elevated levels of mercury.

How is Atlantic Salmon different from other salmon?

Like the name suggests, Atlantic salmon are different to other salmon species because of the ocean in which they are found. Atlantic salmon originate in the Atlantic ocean, while others come from the Pacific and Baltic.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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