Atlantic Salmon
Salmo salar
Habitat: Fresh water rivers, estuaries and open sea
Depth: 10-20m
Food: Insects, molluscs, crustaceans, fish and squid
Length: Up to 15cm
Lifespan: 10 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
Born in rivers, salmon spend their first few years in fast flowing water over stony river beds and eating insect larvae. After up to six years, the young fish migrate to the open sea where they mature and grow big on a diet of herring, sand eels and squid. When ready to breed, salmon head back to the river they were spawned in, even leaping up waterfalls up to 3m high to get there.