Identifying the problem

The Atlantic salmon is an anadromous fish species, spending most of its adult life in the ocean coming back to spawn in freshwater rivers. The adult creates a redd, where it lays the eggs, in the fall. After hatching the salmon undergo several stages of their lifecycle in the freshwater. The fry leave the spawning grounds in search of food and develop into parr. After two years, the fry undergo the process of smoltification, where their physiology changes so that they can live in salt water. At this stage the smolt leaves the river and heads to the ocean, where most ultimately head to feeding grounds off of Greenland. The salmon usually live in the ocean for 2-3 years before they return to the river they were hatched in.