In an attempt to distinguish between parr of ouananiche (freshwater) and those of anadromous Atlantic salmonSalmo salar, we undertook a study of meristic and morphometric variation among populations from rivers along the Quebec north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We sampled parr from six locations in 1984; two 1983 samples were used to estimate year-to-year variation in the Watshishou River. Based on the characters examined, no practical method was found for distinguishing between the two types of parr. Morphologically, ouananiche and anadromous parr exhibited significant heterogeneity and could be classified according to origin by discriminant analysis with 71.0–84.6% accuracy. Very little variation in meristic characters was evident among the populations examined.