Atlantic Salmon vs Wels Catfish

Salmo salar verglichen mit Silurus glanis

Taxonomy & Classification

Eigenschaft	Atlantic Salmon	Wels Catfish
Wissenschaftlicher Name	Salmo salar	Silurus glanis
Ordnung	Salmoniformes	Siluriformes
Familie	Salmonidae	Ictaluridae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Least Concern

Physical Traits

Eigenschaft	Atlantic Salmon	Wels Catfish
Maximale Länge	150,0 cm	500,0 cm
Maximales Gewicht	46,8 kg	300,0 kg
Färbung	Silvery flanks with a blue-green back; sea-run fish are nearly spotless with a few scattered X-shaped dark spots above the lateral line and pinkish-red tones at spawning.	Dark olive-green to slate-gray back with irregular mottled marbling of darker blotches; flanks grade to olive-yellow; scaleless smooth skin; belly pale cream to yellowish-white; head broad and flat.

Habitat & Environment

Eigenschaft	Atlantic Salmon	Wels Catfish
Wassertyp	Freshwater & Saltwater	Brackish
Tiefenbereich	0-210m	0-30m
Verbreitungsgebiet	North Atlantic Ocean from northeastern North America to western Europe, including rivers of Canada, Norway, Iceland, and the British Isles. Anadromous populations spawn in cold, …	Native to large river systems and lakes of central and eastern Europe from the Rhine basin east to the Caspian and Aral sea drainages. Introduced …
Lebensraum	Neritic	Large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs across Europe and Asia (Volga, Danube, Rhine, Ob). Inhabits deep, slow-moving freshwater with soft substrates. Tolerates turbid water (15-25°C). Highly …

Angelinformationen

Eigenschaft	Atlantic Salmon	Wels Catfish
Sportfisch	Ja	Ja
Kampfbewertung	8/10	9/10
Weltrekord	—	—
Quecksilbergehalt	—	—

Cuisine & Edibility

Atlantic Salmon

Rich, buttery flesh with high omega-3 fat content and a distinctly full flavor. Versatile in the kitchen — superb grilled, poached, smoked, or served raw as sashimi.

Wels Catfish

Fatty, soft flesh with a mild, slightly sweet flavor; quality improves from cold, clean water fish. Popular in Central European cuisines — commonly smoked, fried, or braised with vegetables.

Species Overview

Atlantic Salmon

The Atlantic salmon is an anadromous species that migrates from the ocean to freshwater rivers to spawn. Renowned among fly fishers, it is also one of the most important farmed fish species globally.

The wels catfish is the largest freshwater fish in Europe, capable of exceeding 5 meters. Found in large rivers and lakes across the continent, it has been documented beaching itself to catch pigeons. It can live over 80 years.