Which salmon species migrates from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn in rivers?

The Atlantic salmon migrates from the Atlantic Ocean into freshwater rivers to spawn.

Atlantic salmon begin life in gravel beds in streams and rivers. Young fish pass through stages called alevin, fry, and parr before transforming into silvery smolts and heading downstream to the ocean. There they spend one or more years feeding and growing before returning upstream.

Most adults return to the river system where they were born, a behaviour known as homing. Their navigation may involve the smell of their natal stream, ocean currents, magnetic cues, and other environmental signals, although the exact process is still being studied.

Atlantic salmon are anadromous: they grow largely in saltwater but reproduce in freshwater. This distinguishes them from landlocked populations, which complete their lives in lakes. Pacific salmon such as pink, coho, and chinook also migrate between rivers and the sea, but they belong to the Pacific group; Atlantic salmon is the single salmon species native to the North Atlantic.