smolt

noun
\ ˈsmōlt How to pronounce smolt (audio) \

Definition of smolt

: a young salmon or sea trout about two years old that is at the stage of development when it assumes the silvery color of the adult and is ready to migrate to the sea

Examples of smolt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each year, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources and United States Fish and Wildlife Service stocks the rivers and streams with millions of salmon eggs and fry and thousands of parr and smolts. Caroline Lester, The New Yorker, "The Last Presidential Salmon," 7 Aug. 2019 The Nez Perce and Yakama tribes have created novel fish hatcheries that mimic natural conditions of camouflage and river flow, to improve smolt survival. Sallie Tisdale, Harper's magazine, "Catechism of the Waters," 10 June 2019 Cooke’s request for a permit to transfer the smolts to open-water net pens for growing to harvest size was denied for the same reason, Warheit said. Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "Washington state finds virus in Cooke Atlantic salmon, plans expanded testing," 19 May 2018 Five hundred and thirty-five thousand coho salmon smolt have been released into Ship Creek with 365,000 kings to come next week. Bob Hallinen, Anchorage Daily News, "Fish on: First round of stocking complete for Anchorage lakes," 26 May 2018 Washington state tested smolt in a Cooke Aquaculture incubator and found the Atlantic salmon had a strain of Icelandic virus. Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "Washington state finds virus in Cooke Atlantic salmon, plans expanded testing," 19 May 2018 Hatchery managers release more than half a billion pink salmon smolts into Prince William Sound each year, some to be caught by fishermen. Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "Pink salmon — too much of a good thing?," 15 June 2018 Hatchery steelhead smolts are expected to be released early this week, which should lead to good striper fishing river wide. sacbee, "Fishing line: Steelhead action improves on American River | The Sacramento Bee," 29 Jan. 2018 Many of these studies showed our out-migrating smolt were not surviving within months of entering the marine environment. Sam Cotten, Anchorage Daily News, "Why the state decided to shut down or restrict king salmon fishing in the Susitna River drainage," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smolt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of smolt

15th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for smolt

Middle English (Scots)

Keep scrolling for more