Fry live in fresh water anywhere from just a few days to two years depending on the species. Smolting is a physiological change which when completed enables the fish to live in salt water and not absorb the salt into its blood stream. Once a fish turns into a smolt it is ready to begin its migration down the river and into the ocean where it will spend the next phase of its life
smolt stage a salmon has migrated itself to towards the coast and is living in estuaries. Estuaries are places where salt water and fresh water meet. This is the stage where salmon begin to undergo changes that will allow them to live in salt water instead of fresh. A salmon that has made it this far along the journey is very lucky to have survived