Seasonal growth of wild Atlantic salmon juveniles and implications on age at smoltification

Abstract

The seasonal growth trajectories of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar juveniles by age group within the Margaree River, Canada, are described. Circuli counts from scales were used to infer growth rates at different ages and these were used to predict the proportions of age 2‐ and 3‐year old smolts from different portions of the watershed. In the wild Atlantic salmon juveniles from the Margaree River, there was no bimodality in fork length frequencies and no 1 year old smolts were produced. Water temperature differences during the growing season were insufficient to explain the differences in growth rates and size at age among the sites sampled. There was a positive association between the growth rate in the first year and the subsequent age at smoltification. In the Margaree River, differences in tributary specific growth rates and size at age were expected to produce important differences in the relative ages at smoltification.