| Walk up to five different seafood counters and chances are you will be bombarded by five different adjectives on signs propped against the sides of salmon . Common sightings include Pacific, king, coho, Atlantic and Alaskan. |
| Salmon has skyrocketed in popularity. With more than a 20 percent increase in 1999, the most recent year for which statistics are available, salmon became the third most popular seafood in the United States, behind tuna and shrimp , according to the National Fisheries Institute. |
| This may be due, in part, to its status as a nutrient-dense fish. It is high in protein, high in the antioxidant vitamin E and high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which reportedly reduce both cholesterol and blood-pressure levels and strengthen the immune system. |
| But how do you sort out all the types? Here's a quick guide. |
| The two basic species are Pacific and Atlantic. Both are indigenous to the Northern Hemisphere. Pacific salmon die after spawning once; Atlantic salmon do not. Once both oceans were teeming with salmon, but today Pacific wild salmon is endangered in places, and Atlantic wild salmon is almost extinct. |
| Pacific salmon |
| Prime season runs from mid-May through late September, though some types are available year-round. There are six types of Pacific salmon, but only three are commonly sold fresh: king or chinook, sockeye or red, coho or silver. (The other three are chum, pink and steelhead, which was long referred to as a trout and recently reclassified.) |
| Five of these fish are protected in areas of Northern California, Washington and Oregon under the Endangered Species Act. As a result, about 90 percent of the salmon caught in U.S. waters comes from Alaskan rivers. |
| King: The chinook, or king, salmon boasts the highest name recognition of any wild salmon, though it accounts for just 1 percent of the overall catch. It is prized for its vibrant orange hue and high fat content, which produces its resulting buttery texture. The largest of the Pacific salmon, it averages between 15 and 40 pounds but sometimes weighs more than 100 pounds. |
| King salmon is perhaps most commonly known for its association with Alaska's Copper River, though king salmon and Copper River salmon are not synonymous. |
| King salmon spawns in many other rivers and streams, and other Pacific salmon exist in the Copper River. When you buy Copper River salmon, you are not buying a particular variety - you are buying fish from a certain river. |
| Sockeye: Flesh of the red, or sockeye, salmon, unlike most others, does not lose its vibrant hue when subjected to heat. It is often described as having an earthy, almost mineral, flavor, probably due to its plankton-based diet. |
| Although less marbled than king, it is oilier, so it tolerates cooking over dry heat and is ideal for the grill . |
| Sockeye's distinctive flavor and appearance are also popular in Japan, where it figures largely in sushi and sashimi . |
| It is much smaller than king, averaging about six pounds, with thinner fillets. The peak catch occurs the first few days of July at Bristol Bay in Alaska. |
| Coho: Leaner and firmer than king and sockeye, the coho, or silver, salmon is pinkish to red-orange and weighs, on average, 10 pounds. Its flesh is more delicate, with a finer texture and somewhat milder, sweeter flavor. It is in markets from July through October. |
| Atlantic salmon |
| The salmon that once swam wild in the Atlantic was bright pink (not orange like Pacific salmon) and slightly fattier than its West Coast cousin. A single species, Atlantic salmon is now endangered and rarely found in the wild. In response to overfishing and polluted waters, it is now being raised in 'farms.' |
| Farm-raised salmon |
| See the sign that says 'Atlantic' at the fish counter? That fish most likely came from a farm, in Canada, Norway, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland or, increasingly, Chile and New Zealand. |
| Most farm-raised salmon spend the first six months in a fresh-water hatchery before being transferred to offshore saltwater pens. These salmon are sometimes bland and mushy, yet their year-round availability and lower price make them attractive. |
| Crowded into pens, these salmon exercise little, resulting in high fat content but little marbling. Conservationists also point out that waste from these fish can pollute natural bodies of water, endangering wild fish. Storms can tear open the pens, allowing farm-raised fish to commingle with wild salmon, endangering the species. |
| Farm-raised salmon generally eat processed feed, while wild salmon feed on crustaceans, which contain astaxanthin, a naturally occurring pigment that results in its vibrant color. To avoid an unattractive grayish salmon, fish farmers feed the salmon supplemental naturally occurring or synthetic dyes. |
