Fjord

For salmon, the fjord is not the main habitat

Norway has many fjords that are several hundred meters deep. Small Salmon that are on their way to the ocean, and adult salmon that are on their way back to the river where they were born, use only the top meters. The water here is often brackish water. That is, it is less salty than the water in the ocean, and more salty than fresh water. The water temperature and salinity of the water can vary from year to year and from fjord to fjord. The surface water in the fjords is quite similar throughout the year — if we compare with the conditions in the watercourses.

To eat or be eaten

The small salmon (the smolt) migrate out in the spring, wearing camouflage adapted to marine life. They have dark backs and glossy bellies — almost like a herring. The dark back makes it difficult for fish-eating birds to see them as they swim across deep and dark fjords. Its light belly and light sides camouflage it against predatory fish coming from below and looking up at the bright water surface.

The smolt stays only a few days in the fjord. They purposefully swim out towards the open sea. The main food for smolt in the fjord is fish fry. Adult salmon that are on their way to their birth river to spawn, rarely stop to eat in the fjord.

Rapid growth in farming

The fish farms along the coast have a thousand times more fish than we have wild salmon. It likes the parasite salmon lice. Salmon lice infect from farmed salmon to wild salmon and can injure and kill smolt on their way out to sea.

Salmon are particularly protected in some waterways and fjords

Parliament has granted the wild salmon special protection in 29 fjords. We call these national salmon fjords, and salmon farming is not allowed here. Tanafjorden and Namsenfjorden are two such national salmon fjords. You can read more about national salmon waterways and fjords here.

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