Puget Sound Nearshore Environments Salmon Use, Large River Mouth
Salmon are anadromous fish: they are bred and spawn in freshwater but spend most of their adult lives in saltwater. The nearshore environment provides a critical transition point for juvenile salmon after they emerge from their stream of birth and prepare to set out for the open ocean. It is here that the young fish acclimate to the higher salinity levels of the ocean, seek refuge from predators, and increase in body size to improve their chances of surviving out at sea. Chinook are the most estuarine-dependent of the salmonids, spending up to 160 days in the nearshore prior to their seaward migration. Chum are the second most reliant on estuarine systems.
