These native of the Pacific Ocean around western North America and north-eastern Asia (especially Japan) were introduced to Australia in the 1870s. Wild stocks are limited to Lake Purrumbete and Lake Bullen Merri in south-western Victoria.
They have however been farmed in sea cages in New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds since the 1980’s and New Zealand is now the world’s major supplier of this species, marketing it as ‘King Salmon’. Freshwater-raised fish look similar to Rainbow Trout, but lack the orange patch on the gill cover and stripe along the side, the skin is silvery becoming spotted and olive green towards the top, while those raised in saltwater are more silvery blue, looking very similar to Atlantic Salmon but slightly paler with a smaller tail.
The Latin name derives from the Greek onkos ("hook") and rynchos ("nose"), referring to the hooked jaw males develop in the mating season to fight off competitors.