If you see a salmon which is not silver but instead bronze with black and red spots, that is a young salmon or parr. After hatching and maturing, these parr will leave the freshwater, travelling back to the ocean to live out most of their adult life. Atlantic salmon, while not endangered, are rarely found nowadays in the Merrimack River, with only a few dozen making the journey from the Atlantic Ocean to northern fresh water each year. During the Industrial Revolution, their habitat was polluted, driving many away in search of new spawning grounds. Historically, the salmon also had trouble traversing over the dams erected for mills all along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This makes them an easy target for prey and reduces the next generation's population. For decades an effort was made to reintroduce the Atlantic Salmon to the Merrimack ecosystem, but it never saw consistent results. Due to these poor results, the operation was shut down along hte Merrimack River in 2013. |
Last updated: September 26, 2020