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| Arctic
Char, also known as Salvelinus Alpinus, is related to the Dolly Varden
species. They have a circumpolar distribution around the Arctic Ocean, and many
landlocked populations exist in lakes in the higher latitudes of the northern
hemisphere. It resembles a salmon in appearance, but is genetically more closely
linked to trout. There are two subgroups, a sea-run group and a freshwater land-locked
group. The sea-run fish are larger, commonly weighing 5 to 10 pounds…..with
Trophies being recorded around 20 pounds while the freshwater group can range
in weight from 1/2 to 5 pounds. The colour of these fish varies. Wild, sea-run adults are often deep blue or blue-green over the back, shading to shining silver on the sides and white on the belly. One of the distinguishing features of Arctic Char is a series of large, round spots, usually violet-pink, scattered on the sides of the fish. Farmed char have redder skin with cream-colored spots. The flesh colour of char can range from a bright red to a pale pink, however most farmed char are uniform in flesh color. Farmed char reach market-sized between 1 to 2.3 kg (2 - 5 pounds), depending on retail demand. The taste is generally considered somewhat milder than Atlantic salmon (farmed or wild). |
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