Salmon
Salmons is relatively small, with the largest being roughly two to three feet in length. The average height, however, is around one foot or less. This fish is known for its ability to jump great distances out of the water and capture airborne prey. It typically cannot move well on land but can climb up hills if it goes straight up the slope, with no obstructions.
Salmons are usually dark blue on top and white on their undersides; however, they can sometimes be seen in colors such as red or orange depending on their diet. Landlocked salmons lack the ability to migrate long distances because they cannot swim upstream against waterfalls and rapids; these fish are generally seen as a gray or brown color.
These fish are known for being very capable swimmers, being able to propel themselves through the water at up to fifty kilometers an hour when in full sprints. They can also swim extremely well vertically and are capable of jumping up to four meters into the air from a standing position.
These fish are capable of extreme regeneration abilities, with limbs growing back in only a day or two depending on the severity; even injuries to their internal organs can be completely healed within two weeks. This does not make them immortal, however; they are still very susceptible to injury and infection, although wounds do heal much faster than on humans. It is theorized that within the next fifty years, they will have developed a serum that can have similar regenerative properties.
They are very genetically diverse, meaning that they have a wide variety of features on their bodies that can vary between individuals. It is theorized that within the next 50-100 years, this genetic diversity will result in them developing into two separate subspecies with different physical attributes or adaptations to different environments. One group of these subspecies will remain in the oceans, while the other will migrate to land and develop into amphibious creatures.
One unique thing about these fish is their blood chemistry. While it does not react with water as chemicals inside of most fish would, it continues to flow normally through the body even if all water has been removed, and can do so at temperatures as low as -80 degrees Celsius and as high as 120 degrees Celsius.
This fish has a slightly better sense of sight than the average human, although not by much; they can see about twenty feet in clear darkness or up to one hundred yards if it is too dark to see color. It is relatively thick-bodied creatures, with a torpedo-like shape that narrows at the head and the tail. While each species is different, most have elongated hook-like mouthparts. Their scales typically have a silver color, and some also have red coloration as well.
Global salmon production
Salmon farming is the husbandry of salmonids in an enclosed environment, usually freshwater. Salmonids are typically farmed in large tanks or cages located in open-sea sites or freshwater sites. Globally, the annual production of farmed salmonid fish was 1.73 million tonnes in 2009, worth US$5.4 billion. This made it the third-largest sector of the aquaculture industry after freshwater shrimp/prawn farming and carp polyculture, respectively. Salmon is the fifth most popular fish in the world for human consumption.
Cage systems are the predominant form of salmonid aquaculture, accounting for approximately 60 percent of all farmed salmonids worldwide. Fish farms innets suspended from buoys are well established in some areas of the world, particularly off the coasts of Chile and Norway. Open-pen salmon aquaculture, also called sea ranching, is practiced in some areas of Norway, Scotland, Canada, and the Faroe Islands.
A 2002 study found that open-pen salmon aquaculture could have a more than 25 percent chance of infecting wild salmon with parasites and diseases. A 2003 report by Norway's Directorate for Nature Management concluded that escaped farmed salmon represented "a serious threat to the genetic diversity of wild salmon populations". In 2004, the Scottish Executive commissioned a study that found that 10 percent of all Scottish salmon may have been of farm origin.
As of 2010, Chile was the world's leading producer of farmed salmon, with approximately 50 percent of the global production. Other major producers include Norway (20 percent), Canada (10 percent), and the Faroe Islands (4 percent). Salmon is typically farmed in freshwater for one to three years before being transferred to saltwater pens for another one to three years. Salmon farming has environmental impacts on neighboring ecosystems. Salmon feed typically contains high levels of wild fish meal and oil, and salmon farms release uneaten feed, fecal matter, pesticides, antibiotics, and other pollutants into the marine environment.