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The Salmon

ATLANTIC SALMON

Salmo salar L.
o salmão
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, L.). © Edward Westmacott

DISTRIBUTION

Atlantic salmon is a migratory fish species that occur in the Atlantic North, from the Arctic Circle, Iceland, the Baltic Sea to the North of the Iberian Peninsula, which represents its global southern distribution limit. In Portugal, the species only occurs in Minho and Lima river basins, with occasional records of some salmons in Cávado and Douro rivers. Historically, there are records of its occurrence in the Tagus river basin.

Did you know that when rivers were free of damns and other obstacles, the best spawning sites were located hundreds of kilometers upstream from the river mouth, being reached only by the largest salmons.
Mapa que mostra a distribuição global do salmão. Destacado em vermelho os mares da península Ibérica, Islandia, mar Báltico, e circulo polar ártico
Global distribution of Atlantic salmon. Adapted from: AquaMaps
More about atlantic salmon's main threats
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