"Sierra fisher" wrote in
message ...
I once had a guy butcher a salmon and show me that the
esophogus(sp?) was
swollen shut. According to him, this is supposed to happen
whithin a day or
so after a salmon enters fresh water. I'm not a fish
biologist, and
sometimes I'm too ready to accept other peoples theories. But
hae seemed
honest and knowledgeable.

I think this is natures way of preventing the spawning salmon
from depleting the food supply needed for their offspring, or
preventing them from eating the eggs. The bodies of the spawned
salmon also provide a tremendous amount of material to the food
chain.
Ernie