Salmon Life Cycle
A female salmon nests in the gravel at the bottom of a stream, river, or lake and then deposits her eggs.  The eggs are fertilized by a male salmon and hatch eight to twelve weeks later.  When the eggs hatch, alevins emerge and live in the gravel for several weeks.  The alevins survive by eating their egg yolk sacks until they become fry and begin eating bugs.  The young salmon typically live in fresh water for one to three years before venturing out into the sea.  The salmon then live in the ocean for between one and seven years before returning to spawn.