Anadromous salmonids spend part of their lives in salt water. Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead trout and coastal cutthroat trout are all anadromous. These fish leave their streams and migrate out to the ocean, where they grow much larger than salmonids that stay in the stream all the time. Chinook usually move into the estuary when they are several months old. The other anadromous fish all spend at least one year in the stream before migrating to sea.
Salmon and steelhead spend from two to five years in the ocean, depending on the species. The waters just off the coast of northern California and Oregon experience an upwelling of nutrients, which supports a rich ecosystem. Food is plentiful and the salmon grow large quickly. Schools of smelt, like the ones pictured above, are just one source of foods.
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