| As salmon grow in the ocean environment, they are essentially accumulating marine nutrients and storing them in their bodies. They then transport those nutrients back to their stream of origin when it is their time to spawn, die and decay. Salmon release their eggs and milt back into the freshwater to re-seed the cycle. Eggs that don't get buried in the gravel become immediately available as food for other fish, birds and insects. After spawning the salmon die, and as they decay valuable nutrients are released. These nutrients fertilize the water that feeds the developing salmon, filter feeding insects, and aquatic and terrestrial plant life. This process of salmon accumulating marine nutrients and returning them to freshwater streams has been referred to as "the great nutrient cycle."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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