Spawning salmon
A beautiful male salmon in spawning suit. Photo: Helge Skoglund.
Spawning salmon are salmon that are spawning, or getting ready to spawn
When the salmon swim in from the sea and into the river, they are silvery shiny. After it has been in the river for a while, its appearance gradually begins to change. The silver shine gradually disappears, the skin becomes darker and we can see the beginnings of a hook on the lower jaw of the male salmon. The male salmon develops sperm and the female salmon eggs. This means that the salmon are getting ready to spawn.
Hannlaksen dresses up the most
In late fall, before the ice settles, salmon spawn in many schools. By then, the spawning salmon are all dressed up. The spawning costume of the male salmon is particularly colorful and beautiful. The male draws color and energy from the flesh of the fish. The skin becomes reddish and the lower jaw is given a proper hook. The hook is well suited for fighting, and both the color and the hook should impress the female salmon.
The female is not as colorful in her skin as the male salmon. She becomes more brownish. But the eggs will have a clear orange color.
The skin on the spawning salmon becomes thicker and the scales are more firmly attached. It's a good idea to be tough when you're going to fight and perhaps spend a whole winter in the river.
Spawning salmon take their time getting ready. After staying relatively still in the same place, perhaps for several weeks, they start looking for the perfect spawning ground. There is competition for the best spots. The strongest male is the boss.
The female salmon does the digging
The roe is placed in a spawning pit, which the female salmon digs. She uses her tail to dig and her gill fin to measure the correct depth. The toughest male salmon is immediately in place and fertilizes the roe when the female releases the eggs. The female salmon quickly covers the eggs with a layer of gravel.
Snipers
At the spawning grounds, there are always a few small lurkers that we call spawning parr or sneak spawners. These little guys are sexually mature male salmon that have not been on a feeding migration in the sea. They lurk and help fertilize the eggs. They live dangerously and can be killed if they get in the way and are discovered.
Snipers
Some male pairs reach sexual maturity and participate in spawning. We call them spawning pairs, or 'sneak spawners'. Those that survive the spawning can later travel to the sea and return as spawning salmon.
In the picture to the left you see a parr. If it's a male fish, it will either smoltify and travel to the sea or stay in the river and try its hand at stealth spawning. This can also be a clever strategy.
The spawning pairs do not get as nice a spawning suit as the large spawning salmon.