"Salmon are so lively and interesting. I am fascinated by the way the light reflects on the fish's scales and the changing colors and characteristics of the different salmon species; Sockeye, Kokanee, Chinook, Atlantic, Coho and even the similarly colorful Rainbow Trout. The combination of rippling water, river rocks, reeds and the salmon themselves inspire me to paint them. Whether you love fishing or just enjoy the serenity of nature for itself these ceramics will provide a colorful addition to any home or office. They are a soothing reminder of nature at its best."
~ Frédérique Lavios, artist
About Salmon and Trout:
Salmon in mythology
In Norse mythology, when Loki, god of mischief and strife, killed Baldr, god of beauty and light, he jumped into the river and transformed himself into a salmon in order to escape punishment from the other gods. When they held out a net to trap him he attempted to leap over it but was caught by Thor who grabbed him by the tail with his hand, and this is why the salmon's tail is tapered.
Environmental pressures
Many wild Salmon stocks have seen a marked decline in recent decades, especially north Atlantic populations which spawn in western European waters, and wild salmon of the Snake River system in the Northwest USA. The causes of these declines likely include a number of factors, among them:
Disease transfer from open net cage salmon farming, especially sea lice. The European Commission (2002) concluded “The reduction of wild salmonid abundance is also linked to other factors but there is more and more scientific evidence establishing a direct link between the number of lice-infested wild fish and the presence of cages in the same estuary.” See Scientific Evidence.
Overfishing in general but especially commercial netting in the Faroes and Greenland.
Ocean and river warming which can delay spawning and accelerate transition to smolting.
Ulcerative dermal necrosis (UDN) infections of the 1970s and 1980s which severely affected adult salmon in freshwater rivers.
Loss of suitable freshwater habitat, especially suitable material for the excavation of redds.
The construction of dams, weirs, barriers and other "flood prevention" measures, which bring severe adverse impacts to river habitat and on the accessibility of those habitats to salmon. This is particularly true in the northwest USA, where large numbers of dams have been built in many river systems, including over 400 in the Columbia River Basin.
Loss of invertebrate diversity and population density in rivers because of modern farming methods and various sources of pollution, thus reducing food availability.
Reduction in freshwater base flow in rivers and disruption of seasonal flows, because of diversions and extractions, hydroelectric power generation, irrigation schemes, and slackwater reservoirs, which inhibit normal migratory processes and increase predation for salmon.
There are efforts to relieve this situation. As such, several government and NGOs are sharing and participating in documentation efforts.
NOAA's Office of Protected Resources maintains a list of Endangered Species, the Endangered Species Act
Sweden has generated a protection program as part of its Biodiversity Action Plan
State of Salmon maintains an IUCN redlist of endangered salmon
The Kamchatka Peninsula, in the Russian Far East, contains the world's greatest salmon sanctuary.
Aquaculture
Artificially-incubated chum salmonSalmon aquaculture is the major economic contributor to the world production of farmed fin-fish, representing over $1 billion US annually. Other commonly cultured fish species include: tilapia, catfish, sea bass, carp, bream, and trout. Salmon farming is very big in Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Canada, and Chile and is the source for most salmon consumed in America and Europe. Atlantic salmon are also farmed in Russia, Tasmania, Australia and the UK.
Salmon are carnivorous and are currently fed a meal produced from catching other wild fish and other marine organisms. Consequently, as the number of farmed salmon increase, so does the demand for other fish to feed the salmon. Work continues on substituting vegetable proteins for animal proteins in the salmon diet. Unfortunately though, this substitution results in lower levels of the highly valued Omega-3 content in the farmed product. Intensive salmon farming now uses open net cages which have low production costs but have the drawback of allowing disease and sea lice to spread to local wild salmon stocks.
Another form of salmon production, which is safer but less controllable, is to raise salmon in hatcheries until they are old enough to become independent. They are then released into rivers, often in an attempt to increase the salmon population. This practice was very common in countries like Sweden before the Norwegians developed salmon farming, but is seldom done by private companies, as anyone may catch the salmon when they return to spawn, limiting a company's chances of benefiting financially from their investment. Because of this, the method has mainly been used by various public authorities as a way of artificially increasing salmon populations in situations where they have declined due to overharvest, construction of dams, and habitat destruction or disruption. Unfortunately, there can be negative consequences to this sort of population manipulation, including genetic "dilution" of the wild stocks, and many jurisdictions are now beginning to discourage supplemental fish planting in favour of harvest controls and habitat improvement and protection. A variant method of fish stocking, called ocean ranching, is under development in Alaska. There, the young salmon are released into the ocean far from any wild salmon streams. When it is time for them to spawn, they return to where they were released where fishermen can then catch them.
Species
The various species of salmon have many names, and varying behaviors.
Atlantic Ocean species
Atlantic salmonAtlantic ocean species belong to the genus Salmo. They include,
Atlantic salmon or Salmon (Salmo salar), is the species after which all the others are named.
Pacific Ocean species
Pacific species belong to the genus Oncorhynchus, some examples include;
Cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masu or O. masou) is found only in the western Pacific Ocean in Japan, Korea and Russia and also landlocked in central Taiwan's Chi Chia Wan Stream.
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is also known locally as King, Tyee, Spring Salmon, Quinnat, Tule, or Blackmouth salmon. Chinook are the largest of all Pacific salmon, frequently exceeding 30 lbs. (14 kg).
Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is known locally as Dog or Calico salmon. This species has the widest geographic range of the Pacific species[9] : south to the Sacramento River in California in the eastern Pacific and the island of Kyūshū in the Sea of Japan in the western Pacific; north to the Mackenzie River in Canada in the east and to the Lena River in Siberia in the west.
Coho salmon or Silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) is found throughout the coastal waters of Alaska and British Columbia and up most clear-running streams and rivers.
Pink salmon or Humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), known as humpies in south east Alaska, is found from northern California and Korea, throughout the northern Pacific, and from the Mackenzie River in Canada to the Lena River in Siberia, usually in shorter coastal streams. It is the smallest of the Pacific species, with an average weight of 3.5 to 4 lbs. (1.6 - 1.8 kg).
Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is known locally as "Red Salmon" or "Blueback Salmon".This lake-spawning species is found south as far as the Klamath River in California in the eastern Pacific and northern Hokkaidō Island in Japan in the western Pacific and as far north as Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west. Although most adult Pacific salmon feed on small fish and insects, sockeyes feed on plankton that they filter through gill rakers.
Other species
Land-locked salmon (Salmo salar sebago) live in a number of lakes in eastern North America. This subspecies of Atlantic Salmon is non-migratory, even when access to the sea is not barred.
Kokanee salmon is a land-locked form of sockeye salmon.
Huchen or Danube salmon (Hucho hucho), the largest permanent fresh water salmonid
References
^ Endangered Salmon. U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ McGrath, Susan. Spawning Hope. Audubon Society. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ a b c Pacific Salmon, (Oncorhynchus spp.). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ A Salmon's Life: An Incredible Journey. U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Montaigne. Everybody Loves Atlantic Salmon: Here's the Catch.... National Geographic. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition on the use of canthaxanthin in feedingstuffs for salmon and trout, laying hens, and other poultry. (PDF) 6-7. European Commission - Health & Consumer Protection Directorate. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
^ Formosan salmon. Taiwan Journal. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
^ Chinook Salmon. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Chum Salmon. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Pink Salmon. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Sockeye Salmon. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
Murals shown are approx.18" x 24" using 6" x 6" tiles.
Other sizes available.
Tile trim not included.
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