Rainbow Trout

The rainbow trout is a freshwater and anadromous fish native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and northeastern Asia, and one of the most widely introduced fish species in the world, now farmed and stocked on every continent except Antarctica. It typically displays an olive to blue-green back, silvery sides and a characteristic broad pink to red stripe running along its flank, though coloration varies considerably between populations and life stages. Populations that migrate to the ocean and return to freshwater to spawn are known as steelhead, and can grow substantially larger than trout that remain in freshwater their entire lives. An opportunistic feeder, it preys on aquatic insects, crustaceans, smaller fish and, in the ocean phase, squid and other marine prey. Highly valued by anglers and central to global aquaculture, the rainbow trout has become one of the most economically important freshwater fish species, though its introduction outside its native range has sometimes harmed local fish populations through competition and predation.