Fish facts from a new book on salmon
Here are a few salmonoid factoids from "King of Fish: The Thousand Year Run of Salmon," by David R. Montgomery:
• The word salmon is derived from the Latin salir, meaning to leap.
• The largest species of salmon did not survive the Ice Age. The sabertooth salmon grew up to 10 feet long and weighed as much as 350 pounds.
• Because of the nutrients returned by the death of ocean-going fish, trees growing along salmon-bearing streams grow up to three times faster than trees growing along salmon-free streams.
• Salmon fishing may be the oldest ongoing regulated profession in the English-speaking world. Scottish King Malcolm in 1030 closed salmon fishing from the end of August to mid-November.
• Salmon exports from the Pacific Northwest began in 1829, when a brig from Boston arrived at the Columbia River and sailed for home with 50 barrels stuffed full of huge fish.