Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
A living river of smelts makes its way upstream from the ocean to spawn in freshwater.
The 5-millimeter-long (0.2-inch) hatchlings are carried downstream to the estuary, where they drift on the
tide. Larvae and juveniles are found throughout the Miramichi River, bay, and estuary during the summer, but
begin leaving the river in August. The smelt larvae consume small zooplankton and are prey to larger fish.
Adults are eaten by a wide variety of predators—cod, salmon, seals, cormorants, and mergansers—and are an
important element of the estuarine food web.
