Juvenile salmon, parr.
These salmon spend their first years adapting to a saltwater life, slowly moving toward coastal waters.
Their bodies are streamlining and changing color, a process called smoltification, preparation for the challenges of an ocean environment.
Until then, life is good.
The insect hatches of early summer are a welcome feast.
Undergoing such dramatic changes requires vast amounts of energy.
Even more vital is what the salmon are learning: the smell of their natal waters.
The parr imprint on a chemical signature and magnetic profile unique to this exact area.
For the salmon who moved to the ocean years earlier, the memory is a guiding beacon.
