But this designation is very simplified and falls apart when considering that some species do both. “Salmon” split their lives between rivers and the ocean, while “trout” spend their entire lives in freshwater. Often, recreational fishermen will distinguish salmon from trout by where the fish live. Both groups contain fishes with the common name “salmon” and the common name “trout.”

The Atlantic salmon is a member of a completely different genus, Salmo, and is likewise related to trouts in the same genus, like the brown trout that’s native to Europe. Salmons in the Pacific, including the Chinook, chum, and sockeye, are members of the genus Oncorhynchus, and are closely related to trouts, like the rainbow trout, in the same genus. However, when talking about salmon, the discussion is generally referring to two different groups-fishes in the Oncorhynchus genus and Salmo genus.

The family Salmonidae includes the salmon, trout, char, freshwater whitefish, taimen, lenok, and grayling. There are many species of salmons that live around the world, and surprisingly many of the fishes known as “salmon” are not each other’s closest relatives.

They are anadromous fishes, meaning they spend part of their life living in freshwater streams and part of their life in the salty ocean. Generally, fishes either live in freshwater or the ocean, but salmons often live some part of their lives in both.

Fishing planet unique coho salmon