Field Guide10 species · North Pacific

Species
Guide.

Know what you're buying. Wild Alaska species — when they're running, how they taste, what to do with them, and which boats catch them right.

Browse species Catching grounds

Why this matters

A significant share of seafood at U.S. retail is mislabeled. Knowing the species — Latin name, peak season, gear type — is the first defense against paying salmon prices for something that isn't.

The Five Salmon

Pacific Salmon Family

Five wild Pacific salmon species, each with a distinct flavor, fat content, and best use. The mnemonic on Alaskan boats: King, Sockeye, Coho, Pink, Chum — biggest to smallest, richest to leanest.

Coho · SilverVersatile

Coho Salmon

Oncorhynchus kisutch

The diplomatic salmon — mild, balanced, bright orange, medium-firm flesh. The safe pick if you don't know who you're feeding, and the right pick if you want a fish that takes a sauce well without disappearing under it.

Keta · ChumUnderrated

Keta Salmon

Oncorhynchus keta

The lean one — also called silverbrite. Long ignored as a "lesser" salmon, finally getting its due as cooks figure out that lower fat means it holds up on the grill better than its richer cousins.

King · ChinookPremium

King Salmon

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

The largest, fattiest, and most prized of the five Pacific salmon. Buttery, silky, deep red flesh — the salmon experienced cooks reach for when they want to do as little as possible to the fish.

Pink Salmon

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Smallest, most abundant, and most consumed Pacific salmon. Mild, soft pink flesh. Best for cakes, patties, chowders, and anywhere salmon plays a supporting role rather than a starring one. Most canned salmon on a U.S. shelf is pink.

Sockeye · RedBest seller

Sockeye Salmon

Oncorhynchus nerka

The deep crimson, bold-flavored salmon most people picture when they hear "wild salmon." Rich without being heavy. Bristol Bay's signature run — and the fish that lands on more American plates than any other species we sell.

Whitefish & Shellfish

Beyond the salmon run

Halibut

Pacific Halibut

Hippoglossus stenolepis

The king of Pacific whitefish. Sweet, dense, snow-white flesh — firm enough to take a hard sear, lean enough that it punishes overcooking. Longline-caught (one fish at a time on hook-and-line), the gear that keeps quality intact and bycatch low.

Peak · Mar–Nov

Pacific Cod · Gray Cod

Pacific Cod

Gadus macrocephalus

Mild, flaky, an honest fish. Cousin to Atlantic cod, often the better-managed choice — Atlantic cod stocks have been hammered for decades while Pacific cod stays well-managed in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.

Peak · Jan–Apr

Rockfish · Pacific Snapper

Rockfish

Sebastes spp.

A genus of more than 70 species — black rockfish, yelloweye, copper, quillback, China — that share the same general profile: firm, mild, white-fleshed, with a slightly sweeter taste than cod. Often labeled (and mislabeled) as "Pacific snapper" at the counter. It is not a snapper.

Peak · Apr–Oct

Sablefish · Black Cod · Butterfish

Sablefish

Anoplopoma fimbria

Buttery, silky, almost foie-gras-like. The sushi-bar darling that ends up on every miso-glaze list in town. Despite the "black cod" alias, sablefish is not actually a cod — it's its own genus.

Peak · Year-round

Tanner · Bairdi

Tanner Crab

Chionoecetes bairdi

Sweet, delicate, smaller than king crab — but with a cleaner flavor. The crab Alaskans actually eat at home. Tanner is the species you want when you want crab to taste like crab, not like a buttered prop on a steakhouse plate.

Peak · Jan–Mar

Ready to put a fish on the table?

Species guide tells you what to buy. Buying guide tells you how. Catching grounds tell you where it came from.

Buying Guide Catching Grounds Recipes

SpeciesGuide.

Pacific Salmon Family

Coho Salmon

Keta Salmon

King Salmon

Pink Salmon

Sockeye Salmon

Beyond the salmon run

Pacific Halibut

Pacific Cod

Rockfish

Sablefish

Tanner Crab

Ready to put a fish on the table?

Species
Guide.