Rainbow Trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss

An adult Rainbow trout with black spots along its upper body, and an iridescent rainbow belly, swimming in murky water.

Rostislav Stefanek/Shutterstock

The rainbow trout is native to western North America. It is a popular freshwater fish among both farmers and consumers.

Woman with a net on a long pole, standing on a platform above an indoor aquaculture tank.

PEI Aquaculture Alliance

Rainbow trout can be raised in net pens in lakes, in ponds, and in tanks on land. This means that trout can be raised everywhere in Canada, even on the Prairies!

Aerial view of a row of square net pens, attached to a wooded peninsula jutting out into a large lake.

Courtesy of Manitoulin Trout Farms and Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation

In Ontario, Indigenous-owned farms on Manitoulin Island produce large numbers of rainbow trout.

Good to Know . . .

Rainbow trout are part of the salmonid family. This makes them cousins of Arctic char and Atlantic salmon.

Two pink Rainbow trout fillets with white fatty edges, lying on wrinkled parchment paper next to a small metal bowl of salt.

Stephen Gibson/Shutterstock

Rainbow trout is less popular than salmon, even though it is also rich in protein and omega-3, a healthy form of fat.

Rainbow trout being pulled out of a clear, rock-bottomed stream on a fishing line.

eyecrave productions/iStock

In Central Canada, rainbow trout is also called steelhead trout.

Depending on the type of rainbow trout, it can be raised in freshwater, saltwater, or both.

Until the 1870s, rainbow trout were only present along the Pacific Coast of North America. Humans have now domesticated the fish and introduced it to waterways around the world.

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