Fry

Fry with a “packed lunch” on the belly — so-called yolk-sac fry. Photo: Arnt Mollan

Small young salmon are called fry. The newly hatched have a yolk sac on their belly. We call these yolk-sac fry. The pouch contains all the nourishment the little salmon needs for the first few weeks of its life.

As long as the fry has the yolk sac, it does not need to catch food itself. It stays down in the river gravel and can grow a little bigger and a little stronger before swimming up out of the gravel to catch food.

Now the salmon fry are beginning to fight for food and space. It's about defending their hideout and getting enough food. The fry eat plankton that come with the current, and insect larvae and other small animals from the river bottom.

We call young salmon fry during their first year in the river.

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Roe hatching. Photo: Arnt Mollan

Temperature decides

The timing of hatching is determined by the temperature of the water, and it varies between watercourses. Hatching is one of the most critical stages in the salmon life cycle. About 80% of juveniles die during the first two months of life.

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Spawning salmon

Spawning salmon is salmon that will soon spawn. The male salmon develops sperm and the female salmon develops roe. In the river, the spawning salmon gradually changes appearance. The male salmon turns red-orange and the lower jaw acquires a large hook. The female salmon becomes more brownish.

Roe is fish eggs. The roe of the salmon is orange, and the grains are quite large to be fish eggs. A female salmon can lay 1450 grains of roe for every kilogram she weighs. The male salmon fertilizes the roe when the female salmon releases the eggs. Fertilization and hatching occur outside the fish body.

Small young salmon are called fry. The newly hatched have a yolk sac on their belly. We call these yolk-sac fry. The pouch contains all the nourishment the little salmon needs for the first few weeks of its life. Once used up, the fry must catch food themselves.

When the fry are one year old, we call it parr. The parr has distinct stripes on the sides. The stripes are good camouflage in flowing river water. The parr lives one to four years in the river. There it hunts for food and good hiding places.

Smolt is a parr that has undergone a transformation. The stripes have disappeared, and inside the body things have happened that allow it to withstand the transition from fresh water to salt water. The smolt is ready to travel to the sea.

Towards the end of the first winter the smolt is in the sea, it begins to grow properly. From then on, we can say that the salmon is adult. It varies how long the salmon are in the ocean. Some go home after just one year. Others stay there for several years.