Atlantic salmon from the Latin "salmo", meaning salmon, and "salar", meaning leaper, according to M. Barton, but more likely meaning "resident of salt water" . Lewis and Short's Latin Dictionary (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1879) translates "salar" as a kind of trout from its use in the "Idylls" of the poet Ausonius (4th century CE). Later, the differently coloured smolts were found to be the same species. Other names used to reference Atlantic salmon are: bay salmon, black salmon, caplin-scull salmon, Sebago salmon, silver salmon, fiddler, or outside salmon. At different points in their maturation and life cycle, they are known as parr,
Atlantic salmon generally reared in large freshwater tanks for 12 to 20 months. Once the fish have reached the smolt phase, they are taken out to sea, where they are held for up to two years. During this time, the fish grow and mature in large cages off the coasts of Canada, the USA, or parts of Europe. Generally, cages are made of two nets. Inner nets, which wrap around the cages, hold the salmon. Outer nets, which are held by floats, keep predators out. Farmed Atlantic salmon are known to occasionally escape from cages and enter the habitat of wild populations.