Wildlife - Marine

Atlantic Salmon

A powerful silver fish that hatches in clean rivers, journeys to the North Atlantic, and returns years later to spawn in the exact gravel bed where its life began.

Species description adapted from RSPB and BTO references - see links below.

Status: Endangered (IUCN, 2023)North Yorkshire species profileGo to Wildlife Identification

Watercolour illustration of an Atlantic salmon leaping from the water

How it fits into North Yorkshire wildlife

Atlantic salmon link the rivers, becks and coast of North Yorkshire with the open ocean. Their journey upstream depends on clean cold water, healthy gravel beds and rivers that are not blocked or polluted along the way.

How it interacts with the wider landscape

Returning adults carry nutrients from the ocean deep inland, feeding wildlife and enriching river ecosystems even as they spawn and die. Young salmon support otters, kingfishers and many predators of the river.

Seasonal rhythm

Adults run upriver mainly through autumn and winter, while young fish develop in clean rivers for a year or more before heading out to sea.

Where to look and what to notice

Look for silver fish leaping at weirs and waterfalls in autumn, and clean gravelly stretches of river where spawning takes place.