In September 2023, the SMOLTRACK team returned to Eastern Greenland in hopes of catching some nice-looking salmon at their natural feeding grounds.
The trip proved successful, and showed that it is possible to capture, sample, and tag Atlantic salmon with electronic tags in these remote waters. Salmon were also caught in net for stomach analyses. All the salmon were immature, and of a size that indicates they would return to their native rivers as 2-SW or older fish. Genetic analysis confirmed the presence of Atlantic salmon from multiple European countries, including Denmark, Norway, and the UK.
Dr Kim Aarestrup (DTU Aqua) proudly presents a net-caught Atlantic salmon.
The development of capture methods and live-well holding in Eastern Greenland opens exciting opportunities for future research on the marine migrations of salmon!