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128-602: The Nausta is a small and medium-sized salmon river. From the old bridge across the Naustdalsfossen waterfall salmon may be observed climbing the falls. Fishing permits may be purchased at the local petrol station or from local landowners. In 2015, the river Nausta was one of the best in Vestland county with an annual catch of over 2000 fish weighing in at a total of 7 tonnes (6.9 long tons ; 7.7 short tons ). Salmon travel 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) upstream from

256-506: A common ancestor . The Eocene salmon's fossil from British Columbia provides evidence that the divergence between Pacific and Atlantic salmon had not yet occurred 40 million years ago. Both the fossil record and analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggest the divergence occurred 10 to 20 million years ago during the Miocene . This independent evidence from DNA analysis and the fossil record indicate that salmon divergence occurred long before

384-511: A coastline is impossible to measure exactly . Canada borders approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 km) of coastline, while the remaining 5,300 miles (8,500 km) are bordered by the United States. Michigan has the longest shoreline of the United States, bordering roughly 3,288 miles (5,292 km) of lakes, followed by Wisconsin (820 miles (1,320 km)), New York (473 miles (761 km)), and Ohio (312 miles (502 km)). Traversing

512-442: A few species of salmon remain in fresh water throughout their life cycle, the majority are anadromous and migrate to the ocean for maturation: in these species, smolts spend a portion of their out-migration time in brackish water, where their body chemistry becomes accustomed to osmoregulation in the ocean. This body chemistry change is hormone-driven, causing physiological adjustments in the function of osmoregulatory organs such as

640-477: A fish returns after just one year's sea feeding, it is called a grilse in Canada, Britain, and Ireland. Grilse may be present at spawning, and go unnoticed by large males, releasing their own sperm on the eggs. Prior to spawning, depending on the species , salmon undergo changes. They may grow a hump, develop canine-like teeth, or develop a kype (a pronounced curvature of the jaws in male salmon). All change from

768-702: A future in aquaculture that eliminates the need for land, freshwater, or fertilizer to raise fish. Salmon population levels are of concern in the Atlantic and in some parts of the Pacific. The population of wild salmon declined markedly in recent decades, especially North Atlantic populations, which spawn in the waters of western Europe and eastern Canada, and wild salmon in the Snake and Columbia River systems in northwestern United States. Great Lakes The Great Lakes ( French : Grands Lacs ), also called

896-569: A high demand for wild forage fish . As a predator, salmon require large nutritional intakes of protein , and farmed salmon consume more fish than they generate as a final product. On a dry weight basis, 2–4 kg of wild-caught fish are needed to produce one kilogram of salmon. As the salmon farming industry expands, it requires more forage fish for feed, at a time when 75% of the world's monitored fisheries are already near to or have exceeded their maximum sustainable yield . The industrial-scale extraction of wild forage fish for salmon farming affects

1024-533: A large watershed via many rivers and contain approximately 35,000 islands. There are also several thousand smaller lakes, often called "inland lakes", within the basin. The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom, while the surface area of the entire basin (the lakes and the land they drain) is about the size of the UK and France combined. Lake Michigan

1152-548: A lot of work on Henneguya salminicola was done by scientists at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo in the mid-1980s, in particular, an overview report which states, "the fish that have the longest fresh water residence time as juveniles have the most noticeable infections. Hence in order of prevalence , coho are most infected followed by sockeye, chinook, chum and pink. As well, the report says, at

1280-405: A national basis. The total surface area of the lakes is approximately 94,250 square miles (244,100 km )—nearly the same size as the United Kingdom, and larger than the U.S. states of New York , New Jersey , Connecticut , Rhode Island , Massachusetts , Vermont , and New Hampshire combined. The Great Lakes coast measures approximately 10,500 miles (16,900 km), but the length of

1408-456: A nuisance to industries by clogging pipes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated in 2007 that the economic impact of the zebra mussel could be about $ 5 billion over the next decade. The alewife first entered the system west of Lake Ontario via 19th-century canals. By the 1960s, the small silver fish had become a familiar nuisance to beach goers across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Periodic mass die-offs result in vast numbers of

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1536-681: A possible reason for a decrease in population of various whitefish , important because of their culinary desirability and, hence, economic consequence. Moreover, between 1879 and 1899, reported whitefish harvests declined from some 24.3 million pounds (11 million kg) to just over 9 million pounds (4 million kg). By 1900, commercial fishermen on Lake Michigan were hauling in an average of 41 million pounds of fish annually. By 1938, Wisconsin's commercial fishing operations were motorized and mechanized, generating jobs for more than 2,000 workers, and hauling 14 million pounds per year. The population of giant freshwater mussels

1664-560: A relatively small area of southeast Lake Michigan where savanna or prairie occasionally intruded). Logging, urbanization, and agriculture uses have changed that relationship. In the early 21st century, Lake Superior's shores are 91% forested, Lake Huron 68%, Lake Ontario 49%, Lake Michigan 41%, and Lake Erie, where logging and urbanization has been most extensive, 21%. Some of these forests are second or third growth (i.e. they have been logged before, changing their composition). At least 13 wildlife species are documented as becoming extinct since

1792-489: A season, and can survive poor water quality conditions. The influx of parasitic lamprey populations after the development of the Erie Canal and the much later Welland Canal led to the two federal governments of the United States and Canada working on joint proposals to control it. By the mid-1950s, the lake trout populations of Lakes Michigan and Huron were reduced, with the lamprey deemed largely to blame. This led to

1920-746: A second fault line, the Saint Lawrence rift , formed approximately 570 million years ago, the basis for Lakes Ontario and Erie was created, along with what would become the Saint Lawrence River. The Great Lakes are estimated to have been formed at the end of the Last Glacial Period (the Wisconsin glaciation ended 10,000 to 12,000 years ago), when the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded. The retreat of

2048-689: A small percid fish from Eurasia, became the most abundant fish species in Lake Superior's Saint Louis River within five years of its detection in 1986. Its range, which has expanded to Lake Huron, poses a significant threat to the lower lake fishery. Five years after first being observed in the St. Clair River, the round goby can now be found in all of the Great Lakes. The goby is considered undesirable for several reasons: it preys upon bottom-feeding fish, overruns optimal habitat, spawns multiple times

2176-412: A technically demanding kind of sport fishing , not necessarily intuitive for beginning fishermen. A conflict exists between commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen for the right to salmon stock resources . Commercial fishing in estuaries and coastal areas is often restricted so enough salmon can return to their natal rivers where they can spawn and be available for sport fishing. On parts of

2304-414: Is "new" water, originating from rivers, precipitation, and groundwater springs. In the post-glacial period, evaporation , and drainage have generally been balanced, making the levels of the lakes relatively constant. Intensive human population growth began in the region in the 20th century and continues today. At least two human water use activities have been identified as having the potential to affect

2432-795: Is a major contributor to the world production of farmed finfish, representing about US$ 10 billion annually. Other commonly cultured fish species include tilapia , catfish , sea bass , carp and bream . Salmon farming is significant in Chile , Norway , Scotland , Canada and the Faroe Islands ; it is the source for most salmon consumed in the United States and Europe. Atlantic salmon are also, in very small volumes, farmed in Russia and Tasmania , Australia. Salmon are carnivorous , and need to be fed meals produced from catching other wild forage fish and other marine organisms. Salmon farming leads to

2560-633: Is flat according to the International Joint Commission. Reports about this issue on the U.S. side highlight five large municipal systems (those of Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Gary ) as being the largest current periodic sources of untreated discharges into the Great Lakes. The fish of the Great Lakes have anti-depressant drugs meant for humans in their brains, which has caused concerns. The number of American adults who take anti-depressant drugs rose from 7.7% of all American adults in 1999–2002 to 12.7% in 2011–2014. As

2688-557: Is heavy. Pleasure boats can enter or exit the Great Lakes by way of the Erie Canal and Hudson River in New York. The Erie Canal connects to the Great Lakes at the east end of Lake Erie (at Buffalo, New York ) and at the south side of Lake Ontario (at Oswego, New York ). The lakes were originally fed by both precipitation and meltwater from glaciers which are no longer present. In modern times, only about 1% of volume per year

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2816-424: Is measured, by surface area, either Lake Superior or Lake Michigan–Huron is the second-largest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake. Lake Michigan is the largest lake, by surface area, that is entirely within one country, the United States. The Great Lakes began to form at the end of the Last Glacial Period around 14,000 years ago, as retreating ice sheets exposed the basins they had carved into

2944-441: Is quite high (perhaps as high as 40 to 50%). To lay her roe , the female salmon uses her tail (caudal fin), to create a low-pressure zone, lifting gravel to be swept downstream, excavating a shallow depression, called a redd. The redd may sometimes contain 5,000 eggs covering 2.8 m (30 sq ft). The eggs usually range from orange to red. One or more males approach the female in her redd, depositing sperm, or milt, over

3072-966: Is strictly a fish parasite that cannot live in or affect warm blooded animals, including man". According to Klaus Schallie, Molluscan Shellfish Program Specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency , " Henneguya salminicola is found in southern B.C. also and in all species of salmon. I have previously examined smoked chum salmon sides that were riddled with cysts and some sockeye runs in Barkley Sound (southern B.C., west coast of Vancouver Island ) are noted for their high incidence of infestation." Sea lice , particularly Lepeophtheirus salmonis and various Caligus species, including C. clemensi and C. rogercresseyi , can cause deadly infestations of both farm-grown and wild salmon. Sea lice are ectoparasites which feed on mucus, blood, and skin, and migrate and latch onto

3200-515: Is the only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States; the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada. The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan , Wisconsin , Minnesota , Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and New York . Both the province of Ontario and the state of Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of

3328-480: Is under development in Alaska . There, the young salmon are released into the ocean far from any wild salmon streams. When it is time for them to spawn, they return to where they were released, where fishermen can catch them. An alternative method to hatcheries is to use spawning channels. These are artificial streams , usually parallel to an existing stream, with concrete or rip-rap sides and gravel bottoms. Water from

3456-853: The Atlantic salmon , found in both sides of the North Atlantic , as well as more than 40 other species commonly named as trout . The genus Oncorhynchus contains 12 recognised species which occur naturally only in the North Pacific, six of which are known as Pacific salmon while the remainder are considered trout. Outside their native habitats, Chinook salmon have been successfully introduced in New Zealand and Patagonia , while coho , sockeye and Atlantic salmon have been established in Patagonia, as well.     Both

3584-995: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois River (from the Chicago River ) and the Mississippi River. An alternate track is via the Illinois River (from Chicago), to the Mississippi, up the Ohio, and then through the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (a combination of a series of rivers and lakes and canals), to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial tug -and- barge traffic on these waterways

3712-624: The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association , as a way to increase salmon populations in situations where they have declined due to overharvesting , construction of dams and habitat destruction or fragmentation . Negative consequences to this sort of population manipulation include genetic "dilution" of the wild stocks. Many jurisdictions are now beginning to discourage supplemental fish planting in favour of harvest controls, and habitat improvement and protection. A variant method of fish stocking , called ocean ranching,

3840-876: The Door Peninsula , the Peninsulas of Michigan , and the Ontario Peninsula . Some of these peninsulas even contain smaller peninsulas, such as the Bruce , Keweenaw , Leelanau , Niagara , and Thumb peninsulas. Population centers on the peninsulas include Grand Rapids , Flint , and Detroit in Michigan along with London , Hamilton , Brantford , and Toronto in Ontario. Although the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway make

3968-529: The Environmental Protection Agency have shown that when the mercury comes in contact with many of the bacteria and compounds in the fresh water, it forms the compound methyl mercury , which has a much greater impact on human health than elemental mercury due to a higher propensity for absorption. This form of mercury is not detrimental to a majority of fish types, but is very detrimental to people and other wildlife animals who consume

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4096-690: The Finger Lakes region of New York, as well as in Prince Edward County, Ontario , on Lake Ontario's northeast shore. The Great Lakes have been observed to help intensify storms, such as Hurricane Hazel in 1954, and the 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado , which moved onshore as a tornadic waterspout . In 1996, a rare tropical or subtropical storm was observed forming in Lake Huron, dubbed the 1996 Lake Huron cyclone . Rather large severe thunderstorms covering wide areas are well known in

4224-566: The Great Lakes of North America , Patagonia in South America and South Island of New Zealand . The Modern English term salmon is derived from Middle English : samoun , samon and saumon , which in turn are from Anglo-Norman : saumon , from Old French : saumon , and from Latin : salmō (which in turn might have originated from salire , meaning "to leap". ). The unpronounced "l" absent from Middle English

4352-463: The Great Lakes of North America , are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border . The five lakes are Superior , Michigan , Huron , Erie , and Ontario . (Hydrologically, Michigan and Huron are a single body of water, as they are joined by Straits of Mackinac .) The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among

4480-489: The Japanese word for trout. On the other hand, the steelhead and sea trout , the anadromous forms of rainbow trout and brown trout respectively, are from the same genera as salmon and live identical migratory lives, but neither is termed "salmon" . The extinct Eosalmo driftwoodensis , the oldest known Salmoninae fish in the fossil record , helps scientists figure how the different species of salmon diverged from

4608-521: The Niagara Escarpment precludes all natural navigation, the four upper lakes are commonly called the "upper great lakes". This designation is not universal. Those living on the shore of Lake Superior often refer to all the other lakes as "the lower lakes", because they are farther south. Sailors of bulk freighters transferring cargoes from Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to ports on Lake Erie or Ontario commonly refer to

4736-587: The North Atlantic ( Salmo ) and North Pacific ( Oncorhynchus ) basins. Other closely related fish in the same family include trout , char , grayling , whitefish , lenok and taimen , all coldwater fish of the subarctic and cooler temperate regions with some sporadic endorheic populations in Central Asia . Salmon are typically anadromous : they hatch in the shallow gravel beds of freshwater headstreams and spend their juvenile years in rivers , lakes and freshwater wetlands , migrate to

4864-526: The Pacific Northwest and Alaska , salmon are keystone species . The migration of salmon represent a massive retrograde nutrient transfer, rich in nitrogen , sulfur , carbon and phosphorus , from the ocean to the inland freshwater ecosystems . Predation by piscivorous land animals (such as ospreys , bears and otters ) along the journey serve to transfer the nutrients from the water to land, and decomposition of salmon carcass benefits

4992-461: The Pacific coast of Canada , the louse-induced mortality of pink salmon in some regions is commonly over 80%. The risk of injury caused by underwater pile driving has been studied by Dr. Halvorsen and her co-workers. The study concluded that the fish are at risk of injury if the cumulative sound exposure level exceeds 210 dB relative to 1 μPa s. As can be seen from the production chart at

5120-514: The Quaternary glaciation began the cycle of glacial advance and retreat. There are several other species of fish which are colloquially called "salmon" but are not true salmon. Of those listed below, the Danube salmon or huchen is a large freshwater salmonid closely related (from the same subfamily) to the seven species of salmon above, but others are fishes of unrelated orders , given

5248-672: The Salmo and Oncorhynchus genera also contain a number of trout species informally referred to as salmon. Within Salmo , the Adriatic salmon ( Salmo obtusirostris ) and Black Sea salmon ( Salmo labrax ) have both been named as salmon in English , although they fall outside the generally recognized seven salmon species. The masu salmon ( Oncorhynchus masou ) is actually considered a trout ("cherry trout") in Japan , with masu actually being

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5376-510: The biosphere . Since the 19th century, an estimated 160 new species have found their way into the Great Lakes ecosystem; many have become invasive; the overseas ship ballast and ship hull parasitism are causing severe economic and ecological impacts. According to the Inland Seas Education Association, on average a new species enters the Great Lakes every eight months. Introductions into the Great Lakes include

5504-497: The forest ecosystem . In the case of Pacific salmon , most (if not all) of the salmon that survive to reach the headwater spawning grounds will die after laying eggs and their dead bodies sink to cover the gravel beds, with the nutrients released from the biodegradation of their corpses providing a significant boost to these otherwise biomass -poor shallow streams. Grizzly bears function as ecosystem engineers , capturing salmon and carrying them into adjacent dry land to eat

5632-524: The myrtle zone . These dams can be overtopped at high tide and hold water at low tide. This provides refuges for juvenile salmon so they do not have to swim into large channels where they are subject to predation by larger fish. It has been discovered that rivers which have seen a decline or disappearance of anadromous lampreys , loss of the lampreys also affects the salmon in a negative way. Like salmon, anadromous lampreys stop feeding and die after spawning, and their decomposing bodies release nutrients into

5760-473: The ocean as adults and live like sea fish , then return to their freshwater birthplace to reproduce . However, populations of several species are restricted to fresh waters (i.e. landlocked) throughout their lives. Folklore has it that the fish return to the exact stream where they themselves hatched to spawn , and tracking studies have shown this to be mostly true. A portion of a returning salmon run may stray and spawn in different freshwater systems;

5888-590: The otolith (annuli), analogous to the growth rings visible in a tree trunk. Freshwater growth shows as densely crowded rings, sea growth as widely spaced rings; spawning is marked by significant erosion as body mass is converted into eggs and milt. Freshwater streams and estuaries provide important habitat for many salmon species. They feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects , amphipods , and other crustaceans while young, and primarily on other fish when older. Eggs are laid in deeper water with larger gravel and need cool water and good water flow (to supply oxygen) to

6016-414: The zebra mussel , which was first discovered in 1988, and quagga mussel in 1989. Since 2000, the invasive quagga mussel has smothered the bottom of Lake Michigan almost from shore to shore, and their numbers are estimated at 900 trillion. The mollusks are efficient filter feeders, competing with native mussels and reducing available food and spawning grounds for fish. In addition, the mussels may be

6144-584: The " snowbelts " receive regular snow fall from this localized weather pattern, especially along the eastern shores of the lakes. Snowbelts are found in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario. Related to the lake effect is the regular occurrence of fog, particularly along the shorelines of the lakes. This is most noticeable along Lake Superior's shores. The lakes tend to moderate seasonal temperatures to some degree but not with as large an influence as do large oceans; they absorb heat and cool

6272-632: The Canadian side, Toronto , Hamilton and Mississauga . Though the five lakes lie in separate basins, they form a single, naturally interconnected body of fresh water, within the Great Lakes Basin . As a chain of lakes and rivers, they connect the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan, southward to Erie, and finally northward to Lake Ontario. The lakes drain

6400-497: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in order to keep several species of invasive Asian carp out of the lakes. These fast-growing planktivorous fish have heavily colonized the Mississippi and Illinois river systems. Invasive species, particularly zebra and quagga mussels, may be at least partially responsible for the collapse of the deepwater demersal fish community in Lake Huron, as well as drastic unprecedented changes in

6528-407: The Great Lakes accessible to ocean-going vessels, shifts in shipping to wider ocean-going container ships —which do not fit through the locks on these routes—have limited container shipping on the lakes. Most Great Lakes trade is of bulk material, and bulk freighters of Seawaymax -size or less can move throughout the entire lakes and out to the Atlantic. Larger ships are confined to working within

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6656-459: The Great Lakes during mid-summer; these Mesoscale convective complexes or MCCs can cause damage to wide swaths of forest and shatter glass in city buildings. These storms mainly occur during the night, and the systems sometimes have small embedded tornadoes, but more often straight-line winds accompanied by intense lightning. Historically, the Great Lakes, in addition to their lake ecology , were surrounded by various forest ecoregions (except in

6784-441: The Great Lakes each year. Plastics in the water break up into very small particles known as microplastics . Microplastics can also come from synthetic clothing washed down our drains. Plastic waste found in the lakes include single-use plastics , plastics used in packaging, takeout containers as well as pre-production pellets produced by plastics industry . High concentrations of microplastics were discovered in 100 percent of

6912-438: The Great Lakes region include: Plant lists include: Logging of the extensive forests in the Great Lakes region removed riparian and adjacent tree cover over rivers and streams, which provide shade, moderating water temperatures in fish spawning grounds. Removal of trees also destabilized the soil, with greater volumes washed into stream beds causing siltation of gravel beds, and more frequent flooding. Running cut logs down

7040-561: The Great Lakes. A number of self-operating floating devices called Seabin, were put in the Great Lakes to capture plastic trash as part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup project. The project captured 74,000 pieces of trash using this technology between 2020 and 2021; however, it does not claim to catch up with 22 million pounds (10.0 kt) of plastic that ends up in Great Lakes every year. The production, consumption, and throwing away of plastics seems to remain

7168-479: The North American West Coast salmon sport fishing has completely replaced inshore commercial salmon fishing. In most cases, the commercial value of a salmon sold as seafood can be several times less than the value attributed to the same fish caught by a sport fisherman. This is "a powerful economic argument for allocating stock resources preferentially to sport fishing". Salmon aquaculture

7296-570: The Pacific Ocean, the second host releases a stage infective to salmon. The parasite is then carried in the salmon until the next spawning cycle. The myxosporean parasite that causes whirling disease in trout has a similar life cycle. However, as opposed to whirling disease, the Henneguya infestation does not appear to cause disease in the host salmon—even heavily infected fish tend to return to spawn successfully. According to Dr. Kieser,

7424-509: The Straits of Mackinac. The straits are five miles (8 km) wide and 120 feet (37 m) deep; the water levels rise and fall together, and the flow between Michigan and Huron frequently reverses direction. Dispersed throughout the Great Lakes are approximately 35,000 islands . The largest among them is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, the largest island in any inland body of water in

7552-427: The U.S. A variety of steps taken to process industrial and municipal pollution discharges into the system greatly improved water quality by the 1980s, and Lake Erie in particular is significantly cleaner. Discharge of toxic substances has been sharply reduced. Federal and state regulations control substances like PCBs . The first of 43 " Great Lakes Areas of Concern " to be formally "de-listed" through successful cleanup

7680-432: The adjacent stream is piped into the top of the channel, sometimes via a header pond, to settle out sediment. Spawning success is often much better in channels than in adjacent streams due to the control of floods, which in some years can wash out the natural redds. Because of the lack of floods, spawning channels must sometimes be cleaned out to remove accumulated sediment. The same floods that destroy natural redds also clean

7808-495: The air in summer, then slowly radiate that heat in autumn. They protect against frost during transitional weather and keep the summertime temperatures cooler than further inland. This effect can be very localized and overridden by offshore wind patterns. This temperature buffering produces areas known as " fruit belts ", where fruit can be produced that is typically grown much farther south. For instance, western Michigan has apple orchards, and cherry orchards are cultivated adjacent to

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7936-459: The anti-depressant drugs pass out of human bodies and through sanitation systems into the Great Lakes, this has resulted in fish in the Great Lakes with twenty times the level of anti-depressants in their brains than what is in the water, leading to the fish being exceedingly happy and hence less risk-averse, to the extent of damaging the fish populations. Researchers have found that more than 22 million pounds (10.0 kt) of plastic end up in

8064-432: The arrival of Europeans, and many more are threatened or endangered. Meanwhile, exotic and invasive species have also been introduced. While the organisms living on the bottom of shallow waters are similar to those found in smaller lakes, the deep waters contain organisms found only in deep, cold lakes of the northern latitudes. These include the delicate opossum shrimp (order mysida ), the deepwater scud (a crustacean of

8192-608: The common name "salmon" simply due to similar shapes, behaviors and niches occupied: Salmon eggs are laid in freshwater streams typically at high latitudes. The eggs hatch into alevin or sac fry. The fry quickly develop into parr with camouflaging vertical stripes. The parr stay for six months to three years in their natal stream before becoming smolts, which are distinguished by their bright, silvery colour with scales that are easily rubbed off. Only 10% of all salmon eggs are estimated to survive to this stage. The smolt body chemistry changes, allowing them to live in salt water. While

8320-427: The core of Great Lakes trash problem. Algae such as diatoms , along with other phytoplankton , are photosynthetic primary producers supporting the food web of the Great Lakes, and have been affected by global warming . The changes in the size or in the function of the primary producers may have a direct or an indirect impact on the food web. Photosynthesis carried out by diatoms constitutes about one fifth of

8448-779: The cyanobacteria ... will produce toxins", said Michael McKay, of the University of Windsor. Water quality testing was underway in August 2019. Until 1970, mercury was not listed as a harmful chemical, according to the United States Federal Water Quality Administration. In the 21st century, mercury has become more apparent in water tests. Mercury compounds have been used in paper mills to prevent slime from forming during their production, and chemical companies have used mercury to separate chlorine from brine solutions. Studies conducted by

8576-430: The developing embryos. Mortality of salmon in the early life stages is usually high due to natural predation and human-induced changes in habitat, such as siltation, high water temperatures, low oxygen concentration, loss of stream cover, and reductions in river flow. Estuaries and their associated wetlands provide vital nursery areas for the salmon prior to their departure to the open ocean. Wetlands not only help buffer

8704-472: The elimination of beavers from large parts of the river system, salmon runs plummeted, even in the absence of many of the factors usually associated with the demise of salmon runs. Salmon recruitment can be affected by beavers' dams because dams can: Beaver dams are able to nurture salmon juveniles in estuarine tidal marshes where the salinity is less than 10 ppm. Beavers build small dams of generally less than 60 cm (2 ft) high in channels in

8832-821: The estuary from silt and pollutants, but also provide important feeding and hiding areas. Salmon not killed by other means show greatly accelerated deterioration ( phenoptosis , or "programmed aging") at the end of their lives. Their bodies rapidly deteriorate right after they spawn as a result of the release of massive amounts of corticosteroids . Salmon are mid- level carnivores whose diet change according to their life stage. Salmon fry predominantly feed upon zooplanktons until they reach fingerling sizes, when they start to consume more aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae , micro crustaceans and worms . As juveniles (parrs), they become more predatory and actively prey upon aquatic insects , small crustaceans, tadpoles and small bait fishes . They are also known to breach

8960-461: The fish that were studied by researchers from the Rochman Lab. About 50 million pounds (23 kt) of fish is harvested each year from Great Lakes which has raised concerns on how this might affect human health. Microscopic pieces of plastic have also been found in drinking water coming from Great Lakes. It is estimated that nearly 40 million people in the region rely on drinking water from

9088-443: The fish washing up on shore; estimates by various governments have placed the percentage of Lake Michigan's biomass which was made up of alewives in the early 1960s as high as 90%. In the late 1960s, the various state and federal governments began stocking several species of salmonids, including the native lake trout as well as non-native chinook and coho salmon; by the 1980s, alewife populations had dropped drastically. The ruffe ,

9216-443: The fish. Mercury has been known for health related problems such as birth defects in humans and animals, and the near extinction of eagles in the Great Lakes region. The amount of raw sewage dumped into the waters was the primary focus of both the first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and federal laws passed in both countries during the 1970s. Implementation of secondary treatment of municipal sewage by major cities greatly reduced

9344-443: The fish. There they deposit nutrient-rich urine and feces and partially eaten carcasses. Bears preparing for hibernation tend to preferentially consume the more nutrient- and energy -rich salmon roes and brain over the actual flesh , and are estimated to discard up to half the salmon they've harvested uneaten on the forest floor, in densities that can reach 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) per hectare, providing as much as 24% of

9472-566: The gills, which leads to large increases in their ability to secrete salt. Hormones involved in increasing salinity tolerance include insulin-like growth factor I , cortisol , and thyroid hormones , which permits the fish to endure the transition from a freshwater environment to the ocean. The salmon spend about one to five years (depending on the species) in the open ocean, where they gradually become sexually mature. The adult salmon then return primarily to their natal streams to spawn. Atlantic salmon spend between one and four years at sea. When

9600-417: The glaciers "rebounded" as it was uncovered. Since the glaciers covered some areas longer than others, this glacial rebound occurred at different rates. The Great Lakes have a humid continental climate, Köppen climate classification Dfa (in southern areas) and Dfb (in northern parts) with varying influences from air masses from other regions including dry, cold Arctic systems, mild Pacific air masses from

9728-410: The historical average level. Although "true tides—changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon—do occur in a semi-diurnal (twice daily) pattern", such changes are quite small and generally obscured by other forces. The lake levels are affected primarily by changes in regional meteorology and climatology. The outflows from Lakes Superior and Ontario are regulated, while

9856-491: The ice sheet left behind a large amount of meltwater ( Lake Algonquin , Lake Chicago , Glacial Lake Iroquois , and Champlain Sea ) that filled up the basins that the glaciers had carved, thus creating the Great Lakes as they are today. Because of the uneven nature of glacier erosion , some higher hills became Great Lakes islands. The Niagara Escarpment follows the contour of the Great Lakes between New York and Wisconsin. Land below

9984-554: The key indicators even in the current era of sophisticated analyses and measuring instruments. According to the bi-national (U.S. and Canadian) resource book, The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book : "The largest Great Lakes fish harvests were recorded in 1889 and 1899 at some 67,000 tonnes (66,000 long tons; 74,000 short tons) [147 million pounds]." By 1801, the New York Legislature found it necessary to pass regulations curtailing obstructions to

10112-612: The lake and causing blooms," said Michael McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) at the University of Windsor . The largest Lake Erie bloom to date occurred in 2015, exceeding the severity index at 10.5 and in 2011 at a 10. In early August 2019, satellite images depicted a bloom stretching up to 1,300 square kilometres on Lake Erie, with the heaviest concentration near Toledo, Ohio . A large bloom does not necessarily mean

10240-650: The lake shore as far north as the Grand Traverse Bay . Near Collingwood, Ontario , commercial fruit orchards, including a few wineries, exist near the shoreline of southern Nottawasaga Bay . The eastern shore of Lake Michigan and the southern shore of Lake Erie have many successful wineries because of the lakes' moderating effects, as do the large commercial fruit and wine growing areas of the Niagara Peninsula located between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. A similar phenomenon allows wineries to flourish in

10368-538: The lakes has been observed since records began in 1918. The water level of Lake Michigan–Huron had remained fairly constant over the 20th century. Recent lake levels include record low levels in 2013 in Lakes Superior, Erie, and Michigan-Huron, followed by record high levels in 2020 in the same lakes. The water level in Lake Ontario has remained relatively constant in the same time period, hovering around

10496-470: The lakes' levels: diversion (the transfer of water to other watersheds) and consumption (substantially done today by the use of lake water to power and cool electric generation plants, resulting in evaporation). Outflows through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is more than balanced by artificial inflows via the Ogoki River and Long Lake/ Kenogami River diversions. Fluctuation of the water levels in

10624-525: The lakes. Only barges can access the Illinois Waterway system providing access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Despite their vast size, large sections of the Great Lakes freeze over in winter, interrupting most shipping from January to March. Some icebreakers ply the lakes, keeping the shipping lanes open through other periods of ice on the lakes. The Great Lakes are connected by

10752-609: The lakes. The lakes connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River , and to the Mississippi River basin through the Illinois Waterway . The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area and the second-largest by total volume. They contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The total surface is 94,250 square miles (244,106 km ), and

10880-415: The lakes. The province of Ontario does not border Lake Michigan, and the state of Michigan does not border Lake Ontario. New York and Wisconsin's jurisdictions extend into two lakes, and each of the remaining states into one of the lakes. As the surfaces of Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie are all approximately the same elevation above sea level, while Lake Ontario is significantly lower, and because

11008-603: The land, which then filled with meltwater. The lakes have been a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing, serving as a habitat to many aquatic species in a region with much biodiversity . The surrounding region is called the Great Lakes region , which includes the Great Lakes Megalopolis . Major cities within the region include, on the American side, from east to west, Buffalo , Cleveland , Detroit , Chicago , and Milwaukee ; and, on

11136-446: The largest fish caught in the river Nausta was set in 1946, when a salmon weighing 23.6 kilograms (52 lb) was caught. Salmon all other members of Salmoninae Salmon ( / ˈ s æ m ən / ; pl. : salmon) is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus of the family Salmonidae , native to tributaries of

11264-468: The latter as the lower lakes and Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior as the upper lakes. This corresponds to thinking of lakes Erie and Ontario as "down south" and the others as "up north". Vessels sailing north on Lake Michigan are considered "upbound" even though they are sailing toward its effluent current. Lakes Huron and Michigan are sometimes considered a single lake, called Lake Michigan–Huron, because they are one hydrological body of water connected by

11392-494: The launch of the bi-national Great Lakes Fishery Commission . Several species of exotic water fleas have accidentally been introduced into the Great Lakes, such as the spiny waterflea, Bythotrephes longimanus , and the fishhook waterflea, Cercopagis pengoi , potentially having an effect on the zooplankton population. Several species of crayfish have also been introduced that may contend with native crayfish populations. More recently an electric fence has been set up across

11520-684: The left, the global capture reported by different countries to the FAO of commercial wild salmon has remained fairly steady since 1990 at about one million tonnes per year. This is in contrast to farmed salmon (below) which has increased in the same period from about 0.6 million tonnes to well over two million tonnes. Nearly all captured wild salmon are Pacific salmon . The capture of wild Atlantic salmon has always been relatively small, and has declined steadily since 1990. In 2011 only 2,500 tonnes were reported. In contrast, about half of all farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon. Recreational salmon fishing can be

11648-458: The longer the fish remain in fresh water, and they then deteriorate further after they spawn, when they are known as kelts. In all species of Pacific salmon, the mature individuals die within a few days or weeks of spawning, a trait known as semelparity . Between 2 and 4% of Atlantic salmon kelts survive to spawn again, all females. However, even in those species of salmon that may survive to spawn more than once ( iteroparity ), postspawning mortality

11776-476: The natural migrations of Atlantic salmon from Lake Erie into their spawning channels. In the early 19th century, the government of Upper Canada found it necessary to introduce similar legislation prohibiting the use of weirs and nets at the mouths of Lake Ontario's tributaries. Other protective legislation was passed, but enforcement remained difficult. On both sides of the Canada–United States border,

11904-467: The order amphipoda ), two types of copepods , and the deepwater sculpin (a spiny, large-headed fish). The Great Lakes are an important source of fishing . Early European settlers were astounded by both the variety and quantity of fish; there were 150 different species in the Great Lakes. Throughout history, fish populations were the early indicator of the condition of the Lakes and have remained one of

12032-516: The outflows of Michigan-Huron and Erie are not regulated at all. Ontario is the most tightly regulated, with its outflow controlled by the Moses-Saunders Power Dam , which explains its consistent historical levels. The Great Lakes contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water: 5,472 cubic miles (22,810 km ), or 6.0×10 U.S. gallons, that is 6 quadrillion U.S. gallons, (2.3×10 liters). The lakes contain about 84% of

12160-446: The parasitic infection into a number of cysts that contain milky fluid. This fluid is an accumulation of a large number of parasites. Henneguya and other parasites in the myxosporean group have complex life cycles, where the salmon is one of two hosts. The fish releases the spores after spawning. In the Henneguya case, the spores enter a second host, most likely an invertebrate, in the spawning stream. When juvenile salmon migrate to

12288-525: The percent of straying depends on the species of salmon. Homing behavior has been shown to depend on olfactory memory . Salmon are important food fish and are intensively farmed in many parts of the world, with Norway being the world's largest producer of farmed salmon, followed by Chile . They are also highly prized game fish for recreational fishing , by both freshwater and saltwater anglers . Many species of salmon have since been introduced and naturalized into non-native environments such as

12416-526: The preferred prey of seals and sea lions, which can eat 30 lampreys to every salmon, allowing more adult salmon to enter the rivers to spawn without being eaten by the marine mammals. According to Canadian biologist Dorothy Kieser, the myxozoan parasite Henneguya salminicola is commonly found in the flesh of salmonids. It has been recorded in the field samples of salmon returning to the Haida Gwaii Islands . The fish responds by walling off

12544-408: The problems of rising costs for buying hatchery fish feed . Yet another attractive alternative is the increased use of seaweed . Seaweed provides essential minerals and vitamins for growing organisms. It offers the advantage of providing natural amounts of dietary fiber and having a lower glycemic load than grain-based fish meal . In the best-case scenario, widespread use of seaweed could yield

12672-516: The proliferation of dams and impoundments have multiplied, necessitating more regulatory efforts. Concerns by the mid-19th century included obstructions in the rivers which prevented salmon and lake sturgeon from reaching their spawning grounds. The Wisconsin Fisheries Commission noted a reduction of roughly 25% in general fish harvests by 1875. The states have removed dams from rivers where necessary. Overfishing has been cited as

12800-466: The regular streams. Spawning channels preserve the natural selection of natural streams, as there is no benefit, as in hatcheries, to use prophylactic chemicals to control diseases. Farm-raised salmon are fed the carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin to match their flesh colour to wild salmon to improve their marketability. Wild salmon get these carotenoids , primarily astaxanthin, from eating shellfish and krill . One proposed alternative to

12928-497: The river mouth. The stretch from the fjord to the Hovefoss waterfall is also good for sea trout fishing. The small Redal water system contains small salmon , sea trout , trout and char. Small salmon and sea trout are best caught during floods. The salmon and sea trout season runs from 1 June until 31 August each year. The landowners have set a limit of catching one salmon under 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) per day. The record for

13056-407: The roe. The female then covers the eggs by disturbing the gravel at the upstream edge of the depression before moving on to make another redd. The female may make as many as seven redds before her supply of eggs is exhausted. Each year, the fish experiences a period of rapid growth, often in summer, and one of slower growth, normally in winter. This results in ring formation around an earbone called

13184-428: The routine discharge of untreated sewage during the 1970s and 1980s. The International Joint Commission in 2009 summarized the change: "Since the early 1970s, the level of treatment to reduce pollution from waste water discharges to the Great Lakes has improved considerably. This is a result of significant expenditures to date on both infrastructure and technology, and robust regulatory systems that have proven to be, on

13312-509: The salmon population. This system is referred to as ranching . It was very common in countries such as Sweden, before the Norwegians developed salmon farming, but is seldom done by private companies. As anyone may catch the salmon when they return to spawn, a company is limited in benefiting financially from their investment. Because of this, the ranching method has mainly been used by various public authorities and non-profit groups, such as

13440-436: The shoreline of all the lakes would cover a distance roughly equivalent to travelling half-way around the world at the equator. A notable modern phenomenon is the formation of ice volcanoes over the lakes during wintertime. Storm-generated waves carve the lakes' ice sheet and create conical mounds through the eruption of water and slush. The process is only well-documented in the Great Lakes, and has been credited with sparing

13568-421: The silvery blue of a fresh-run fish from the sea to a darker colour. Salmon can make amazing journeys, sometimes moving hundreds of miles upstream against strong currents and rapids to reproduce. Chinook and sockeye salmon from central Idaho, for example, travel over 1,400 km (900 mi) and climb nearly 2,100 m (7,000 ft) from the Pacific Ocean as they return to spawn. Condition tends to deteriorate

13696-546: The skin of wild salmon during free-swimming, planktonic nauplii and copepodid larval stages, which can persist for several days. Large numbers of highly populated, open-net salmon farms can create exceptionally large concentrations of sea lice; when exposed in river estuaries containing large numbers of open-net farms, many young wild salmon are infected, and do not survive as a result. Adult salmon may survive otherwise critical numbers of sea lice, but small, thin-skinned juvenile salmon migrating to sea are highly vulnerable. On

13824-602: The southern shorelines from worse rocky erosion. It has been estimated that the foundational geology that created the conditions shaping the present day upper Great Lakes was laid from 1.1 to 1.2 billion years ago, when two previously fused tectonic plates split apart and created the Midcontinent Rift , which crossed the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone . A valley was formed providing a basin that eventually became modern day Lake Superior. When

13952-458: The stream. Also, along with species like rainbow trout and Sacramento sucker , lampreys clean the gravel in the rivers during spawning. Their larvae, called ammocoetes, are filter feeders which contribute to the health of the waters. They are also a food source for the young salmon, and being fattier and oilier, it is assumed predators prefer them over salmon offspring, taking off some of the predation pressure on smolts. Adult lampreys are also

14080-414: The surface freshwater of North America; if the water were evenly distributed over the entire continent's land area, it would reach a depth of 5 feet (1.5 meters). This is enough water to cover the 48 contiguous U.S. states to a uniform depth of 9.5 feet (2.9 m). Although the lakes contain a large percentage of the world's fresh water, the Great Lakes supply only a small portion of U.S. drinking water on

14208-534: The survivability of other wild predatory fish which rely on them for food. Research is ongoing into sustainable and plant-based salmon feeds. Intensive salmon farming uses open-net cages, which have low production costs. It has the drawback of allowing disease and sea lice to spread to local wild salmon stocks. Another form of salmon production, which is safer but less controllable, is to raise salmon in hatcheries until they are old enough to become independent. They are released into rivers in an attempt to increase

14336-496: The time the studies were conducted, stocks from the middle and upper reaches of large river systems in British Columbia such as Fraser , Skeena , Nass and from mainland coastal streams in the southern half of B.C., "are more likely to have a low prevalence of infection." The report also states, "It should be stressed that Henneguya , economically deleterious though it is, is harmless from the view of public health . It

14464-467: The total nitrogen available to the riparian woodlands . The foliage of spruce trees up to 500 m (1,600 ft) from a stream where grizzlies fish salmon have been found to contain nitrogen originating from the fished salmon. Beavers also function as ecosystem engineers; in the process of tree-cutting and damming , beavers alter the local ecosystems extensively. Beaver ponds can provide critical habitat for juvenile salmon . An example of this

14592-440: The total volume (measured at the low water datum) is 5,439 cubic miles (22,671 km ), slightly less than the volume of Lake Baikal (5,666 cu mi or 23,615 km , 22–23% of the world's surface fresh water). Because of their sea-like characteristics, such as rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons, the five Great Lakes have long been called inland seas . Depending on how it

14720-562: The treatment plant, are temporarily overwhelmed by heavy rainstorms. Local sewage treatment authorities then must release untreated effluent, a mix of rainwater and sewage, into local water bodies. While enormous public investments such as the Deep Tunnel projects in Chicago and Milwaukee have greatly reduced the frequency and volume of these events, they have not been eliminated. The number of such overflow events in Ontario, for example,

14848-532: The tributary rivers into the Great Lakes also dislocated sediments. In 1884, the New York Fish Commission determined that the dumping of sawmill waste (chips and sawdust) had impacted fish populations. The first U.S. Clean Water Act , passed by a Congressional override after being vetoed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972, was a key piece of legislation, along with the bi-national Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement signed by Canada and

14976-597: The use of wild-caught fish as feed for the salmon, is the use of soy -based products. This should be better for the local environment of the fish farm, but producing soy beans has a high environmental cost for the producing region. The fish omega-3 fatty acid content would be reduced compared to fish-fed salmon. Another possible alternative is a yeast-based coproduct of bioethanol production, proteinaceous fermentation biomass. Substituting such products for engineered feed can result in equal (sometimes enhanced) growth in fish. With its increasing availability, this would address

15104-416: The warmer and shallower portions of the system such as Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay , Green Bay , and the southernmost portion of Lake Michigan. By the mid-1980s, most jurisdictions bordering the Great Lakes had controlled phosphate detergents . Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria blooms, have been problematic on Lake Erie since 2011. "Not enough is being done to stop fertilizer and phosphorus from getting into

15232-417: The water to attack terrestrial insects such as grasshoppers and dragonflies , as well as consuming fish eggs (even those of other salmon). As adults, salmon behave like other mid-sized pelagic fish , eating a variety of sea creatures including smaller forage fish such as lanternfish , herrings , sand lances , mackerels and barracudina . They also eat krill , squid and polychaete worms . In

15360-430: The west pick up the air and moisture from the lake surface, which is slightly warmer in relation to the cold surface winds above. As the slightly warmer, moist air passes over the colder land surface, the moisture often produces concentrated, heavy snowfall that sets up in bands or "streamers". This is similar to the effect of warmer air dropping snow as it passes over mountain ranges. During freezing weather with high winds,

15488-427: The west, and warm, wet tropical systems from the south and the Gulf of Mexico. The lakes have a moderating effect on the climate; they can also increase precipitation totals and produce lake effect snowfall . The Great Lakes can have an effect on regional weather called lake-effect snow , which is sometimes very localized. Even late in winter, the lakes often have no icepack in the middle. The prevailing winds from

15616-480: The whole, quite effective." The commission reported that all urban sewage treatment systems on the U.S. side of the lakes had implemented secondary treatment, as had all on the Canadian side except for five small systems. Though contrary to federal laws in both countries, those treatment system upgrades have not yet eliminated combined sewer overflow events. This describes when older sewerage systems, which combine storm water with sewage into single sewers heading to

15744-567: The world. The second-largest island is Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Both of these islands are large enough to contain multiple lakes themselves—for instance, Manitoulin Island's Lake Manitou is the world's largest lake on a freshwater island. Some of these lakes even have their own islands, like Treasure Island in Lake Mindemoya in Manitoulin Island. The Great Lakes also have several peninsulas between them, including

15872-523: The zooplankton community of the lake. Scientists understand that the micro-aquatic life of the lakes is abundant but know very little about some of the most plentiful microbes and their environmental effects in the Great Lakes. Although a drop of lake water may contain 1 million bacteria cells and 10 million viruses , only since 2012 has there been a long-term study of the lakes' micro-organisms. Between 2012 and 2019 more than 160 new species have been discovered. Native habitats and ecoregions in

16000-558: Was Ontario's Collingwood Harbour in 1994; Ontario's Severn Sound followed in 2003. Presque Isle Bay in Pennsylvania is formally listed as in recovery, as is Ontario's Spanish Harbour. Dozens of other Areas of Concern have received partial cleanups such as the Rouge River (Michigan) and Waukegan Harbor (Illinois). Phosphate detergents were historically a major source of nutrient to the Great Lakes algae blooms in particular in

16128-517: Was eliminated as the mussels were harvested for use as buttons by early Great Lakes entrepreneurs. The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book (1972) notes: "Only pockets remain of the once large commercial fishery." Water quality improvements realized during the 1970s and 1980s, combined with successful salmonid stocking programs, have enabled the growth of a large recreational fishery. The last commercial fisherman left Milwaukee in 2011 because of overfishing and anthropogenic changes to

16256-435: Was later added as a Latinisation to make the word closer to its Latin root. The term salmon has mostly displaced its now dialectal synonym lax , in turn from Middle English : lax , from Old English : leax , from Proto-Germanic : * lahsaz from Proto-Indo-European : *lakso- . The seven commercially important species of salmon occur in two genera of the subfamily Salmoninae . The genus Salmo contains

16384-644: Was seen in the years following 1818 in the Columbia River Basin. In 1818, the British government made an agreement with the U.S. government to allow U.S. citizens access to the Columbia catchment (see Treaty of 1818 ). At the time, the Hudson's Bay Company sent word to trappers to extirpate all furbearers from the area in an effort to make the area less attractive to U.S. fur traders. In response to

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