News
SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Salmon and trout

Atlantic and Pacific salmon, the trouts, char and whitefish. 36 fish on EveryFish so far.

The salmon family, Salmonidae, includes the salmons, trouts, chars, graylings and whitefishes, about 200 species of cold, clean waters in the Northern Hemisphere. They have a small adipose fin on the back near the tail and a streamlined, spotted body. Many are anadromous: they grow at sea and return to the rivers where they hatched to spawn, often finding them by smell.

The salmon run

Pacific salmon, such as the sockeye and Chinook, swim up to thousands of kilometres up rivers to spawn, turn red or develop hooked jaws on the way and die after spawning, their bodies feeding streams and forests. Atlantic salmon and steelhead can survive to spawn again. The runs feed bears and eagles and sustain Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and northern Europe. Dams, warming rivers and changes at sea have reduced many runs.

Farmed salmon and travelling trout

Atlantic salmon is one of the most valuable farmed fish in the world, raised in sea cages in Norway, Chile, Scotland and Canada. Trout have been carried far beyond their home ranges for sport and food. British anglers brought brown trout to Kashmir and trout to the Nilgiris around the turn of the 20th century, and trout farms in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim now raise them. In some places introduced trout have harmed native fish.

Famous salmonid fish

Sockeye salmonRed-bodied spawners of Alaska's lakesBrown troutBrought to Kashmir from BritainHuchenThe Danube salmon, a large river predatorOmulA whitefish found only in Lake Baikal

Still to be written: Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, Rainbow trout, Arctic char.

Further reading

WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
🇺🇸 United StatesCutthroat trout A group of Pacific trout native to western North America, known for red throat markings.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1793 🇺🇸 United StatesCisco Small salmonid fish of northern lakes and seasSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 RussiaInconnu A large anadromous whitefish native to the Caspian Sea basin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreSea trout Anadromous form of brown trout that migrates between sea and rivers.Salmonid · Between sea and river 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreOncorhynchus A genus of migratory fish native to the North Pacific basin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes WorldBrown trout A widespread salmonid with river, lake and sea forms.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDolly Varden trout A cold-water char native to the North Pacific rim.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1792 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreMarble trout Adriatic freshwater salmonid with marbled skinSalmonid · Rivers and lakes

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.