Largest true salmon species

The largest species of true salmon is the chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, one of several different species of Pacific salmon. It can attain a maximum length of 150 cm (most commonly 70 cm) and a maximum weight of 61.4 kg. The Atlantic salmon Salmo salar can also attain a maximum length of 150 cm and is commonly as much as 120 cm, but it is lighter than the chinook salmon, only attaining a maximum weight of 46.8 kg. The chinook occurs in the northeast to northwest Pacific Ocean and also in the Arctic Ocean, whereas the Atlantic salmon occurs in temperate and arctic zones of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Whereas only one species of Atlantic salmon is currently recognized by science, no fewer than six separate species of Pacific salmon are recognized. In addition to the chinook, these include such famous true salmon as the sockeye O. nerka and the pink salmon O. gorbuscha. The genera Oncorhynchus and Salmo also contain a number of species that are referred to as trout.