Thursday September 19, 2024
Caltrout –
Have you ever really thought about the incredible distances that animals travel throughout their lives? Arctic terns fly from pole to pole, caribou cross continents, and salmon swim hundreds to thousands of miles from river to ocean. These are miraculous journeys, but today they are often disrupted by human development and activity. To help these species out, we must understand more about their migration routes and why they move.
Salmon, steelhead, and trout migrate throughout their lives primarily to maximize their chances of successful reproduction and survival. Throughout different stages of their lifecycles, these fish migrate to different parts of a watershed to seek out more abundant food sources, reduce risks from predators, and find suitable locations to lay their eggs.
Salmon and steelhead are anadromous – meaning they are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to grow and mature, and then return to freshwater to reproduce. Many fish migrate thousands of miles over their lifetime because each stage of their lifecycle requires a unique environment for them to flourish. When fish spawn, or find a place to lay their eggs, they are looking for a spot high up in the river that will have ample cold water flowing through it to incubate their eggs…