More than you want to know about Arctic Char:

Arctic char are streamlined fish and typically troutlike.
They belong to the char group of the salmon family and there
are two subgroups - a sea-run group and a freshwater or
land-locked group. The sea-run fish are larger, commonly
weighing 2.3 to 4.5 kg, while the lake dwellers range in
weight from 0.2 to 2.3 kg. The largest Arctic char on record
was caught in Tree River, N.W.T, in 1970 and weighed 12.2
kg.

http://www.siamglobalplus.com/fisk/Arctic_Char/arctic_char.h
tml

http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/notebook/fish
/a%5Echar.htm

http://charrsoc.tripod.com/CurrentStatus/HowandWhy.htm

Subject: [P-F] Salmon


> I purchased some Arctic Char salmon from our very good
local fish market (it
> was pricey- $9.95/lb) and it was very delicious. The fish
monger told me it
> was actually "salmon-trout"- a cross between a salmon and
a trout. Since this
> is a wild caught fish, I was skeptical about this so
called hybrid. Does
> anyone know the truth about this? I always thought Arctic
Char was a good
> quality wild caught salmon, high in natural essential 3
fatty acids. Trout is
> also very high in healthful oils, but I have never heard
of a salmon/trout
> hybrid. Then again, I don't know beans about fish!
>
> Also, a different fellow at the same market told me there
are 2 ways of
> farming salmon. In one method they are raised inland in
small pens (sort of
> like enormous fish tanks) and fed a grain based diet much
like farmed beef,
> thus destroying the natural fatty acid balance. Also, they
are doused with
> various antibiotics and other chemicals to control the
spread of disease in
> such a close contained environment. The second method
employs enormous
> nets/pens in the open ocean, where the fish can be
contained and easily
> harvested, but where they are free to feed naturally as
they would if caught
> wild, thus maintaining the natural healthful fatty acid
balance. I asked how
> the consumer is supposed to know which kind of "farmed
fish" she is
> purchasing, and was told, "You ask your fish monger. At
this market, we
> purchase only the open ocean farmed fish." Any information
about this?
>
> Meanwhile, we bought Chilean Sea Bass (also very pricey)
but as far as I
> know, still a wild fish with a very good fatty acid
balance. It's for dinner
> tonight, so I'll have to see how good it is.
>
> Maddy Mason
> Hudson Valley, NY