Broad whitefish

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Broad whitefish
FMIB 46746 Coregonus Kennicotti.jpeg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Coregonus
Species:
C. nasus
Binomial name
Coregonus nasus
Pallas, 1776
Synonyms

Coregonus kennicottiMilner, 1883

Frozen broad whitefish Chir fish.JPG
Frozen broad whitefish

The broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) is a freshwater whitefish species. Dark silvery in colour, and like a herring in its shape. Its distinctive features includes: a convex head, short gill rakers, and a mild overbite. It is found in the Arctic-draining streams, lakes, and rivers of far eastern Russia and North America. Its prey includes larval insects, snails, and shellfish. It is eaten by humans and brown bears.

Contents

Description

The broad whitefish is a herring-shaped fish with a more compressed body and convex head than other whitefishes. It is iridescent, with a dark olive-brown back, silvery grey sides, and a whitish bottom. [2] [3] Features that distinguish it from other species include a mild overbite and 18–25 short gill rakers. [2] [3] The fins of adults are grey, while those of young fish are grey. [4] It reaches a maximum length of 70 centimetres (28 in), and a maximum weight of 16 kilograms (35 lb). [2]

Distribution and habitat

The broad whitefish is found in Arctic-draining basins in northern Eurasia and North America from the Pechora River to the Perry River. Most commonly inhabiting streams, [3] it is also found in lakes and estuaries with a salinity of less than 15 percent. [1] Fish from freshwater populations sometimes migrate to or through ocean waters, especially in the winter. [4] It is nerito-pelagic, meaning that it is found in inshore open water. [2] Throughout its range it is widespread and abundant, and there are no known threats to its survival, [1] [3] though it could potentially be threatened by overfishing, habitat destruction caused by oil exploration, and alteration of rivers. [4] It has a number of genetically distinct forms in the various basins it occurs in. [5] It has been stocked successfully in Belgium and unsuccessfully in Latvia, Ukraine, Estonia, China. [2] An introduction has been made in Mining, Austria, where a rod and reel record fish was caught in 2002. [6]

Ecology

Recorded items in the broad whitefish's diet are chironomid midges, mosquito larvae, snails, bivalves, and crustaceans. [4] It migrates upstream to spawn, except in some estuaries. These migrations are difficult for it, and many individuals become heavily scarred from infestations, lampreys, and fishing nets. [7] It prefers streams with gravel bottoms, especially those with finer gravel, for spawning. After hatching, larval fish move downstream. [4] In Russia, spawning occurs between July and November in various populations. [2]

As food

This fish is commonly consumed by humans, especially on a subsistence basis, and its good-tasting flesh is sold fresh, smoked, or dried. [2] [4] Also known as Chir, the broad whitefish is one of the species used in the Arctic Siberian dish stroganina. [8]

It is also eaten by brown bears, especially when their preferred salmon is not available. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Coregonus</i> Genus of fishes

Coregonus is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae). The Coregonus species are known as whitefishes. The genus contains at least 68 described extant taxa, but the true number of species is a matter of debate. The type species of the genus is Coregonus lavaretus.

<i>Coregonus lavaretus</i> Species of fish

Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus Coregonus.

<i>Stenodus leucichthys</i> Species of fish

Stenodus leucichthys is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. In the strict sense its natural distribution is restricted to the Caspian Sea basin, and it is known as beloribitsa. The beloribitsa is now considered extinct in the wild, but survives in cultured stocks. The nelma, a more widespread species of Eurasian and North America, is sometimes considered its subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollan (fish)</span> Species of fish

The pollan or Irish pollan is a freshwater whitefish known only from five Irish lakes, Lough Neagh, Lower Lough Erne, Lough Ree, Lough Derg and Lough Allen. The pollan faces competition from introduced species such as pike, roach and zebra mussel, and the populations rely on restocking for survival.

<i>Coregonus albula</i> Species of fish

Coregonus albula, known as the vendace or as the European cisco, is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is found in lakes in northern Europe, especially Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Russia and Estonia, and in some lakes of Norway, the United Kingdom, northern Germany, and Poland. It is also found in diluted brackish water in the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, both of which are in the Baltic Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic cisco</span> Species of fish

Arctic cisco, also known as omul Russian: Омуль, is an anadromous species of freshwater whitefish that inhabits the Arctic parts of Siberia, Alaska and Canada. It has a close freshwater relative in several lakes of Ireland, known as the pollan, alternatively regarded as conspecific with it, or as a distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravenche</span> Extinct species of fish

The gravenche, also known as the Lake Geneva whitefish or the little fera, is a presumably extinct freshwater fish from Lake Geneva in Switzerland and France.

<i>Coregonus fera</i> Extinct species of fish

Coregonus fera, commonly called the true fera, is a presumed extinct freshwater fish from Lake Geneva in Switzerland and France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houting</span> European extinct fish

The houting is a European extinct species of whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It was native to the estuaries and rivers draining to the North Sea. The houting is distinguishable from other Coregonus taxa by having a long, pointed snout, an inferior mouth and a different number of gill rakers. The houting once occurred in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peled (fish)</span> Species of fish

The peled, also called the northern whitefish, is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is found in northern Europe and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humpback whitefish</span> Species of fish

The humpback whitefish, also referred to as the bottom whitefish, the Arctic whitefish or the pidschian, is a species of freshwater whitefish with a northern distribution. It is one of the members in the broader common whitefish complex, or the Coregonus clupeaformis complex. This fish lives in estuaries and brackish water near river mouths, in deltas and in slowly running rivers, in large lakes with tributaries, and floodplain lakes. It can migrate long distances upriver for spawning.

Coregonus trybomi is a freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is a spring-spawning type of cisco, which probably has evolved from sympatric vendace independently in a number of Swedish lakes. Only one of those populations survives, and it is therefore considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The status of Coregonus trybomi as a distinct species is however questionable. By Swedish authorities it is treated as a morphotype or ecotype, not an independent species. It was listed as "Data Deficient" in 2010 but excluded from the national red list in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muksun</span> Species of fish

The muksun(Coregonus muksun) is a type of whitefish widespread in the Siberian Arctic waters. It is mostly found in the freshened areas of the Kara and Laptev Seas and up the major rivers, as well as in Lake Taymyr.

Stenodus nelma, known alternatively as the nelma, sheefish, siifish, inconnu or connie, is a commercial species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from the Kola Peninsula eastward across Siberia to the Anadyr River and also in the North American basins of the Yukon River and Mackenzie River.

Coregonus fontanae, also known as the Stechlin cisco, Fontane cisco, or Fontane's cisco, is a putative species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae endemic to the Großer Stechlinsee in northern Germany. It is believed to have recently evolved from the sympatric vendace, Coregonus albula.

Coregonus bavaricus, the Ammersee kilch, is a species of freshwater whitefish endemic to Lake Ammersee in the German state of Upper Bavaria. A small, silver-colored fish, it typically lives between 60–85 m (197–279 ft) deep, though shallower in the summer months. In the early 20th century the Ammersee kilch was an important commercial species, but its population declined drastically in the 1930s onward due to overfishing and eutrophication of the only lake in which it is found. Today it is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and may be on the verge of extinction.

Coregonus bezola is an extinct species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It was endemic to the Lac du Bourget in Savoie, France where it was pelagic in deep water. The maximum length recorded for this species is 32.0 centimetres (12.6 in). It is known from specimens collected in the late 19th century, and was reported by fishermen to have disappeared in the 1960s. It spawned in January and February, on the muddy bottom of the lake, at a depth of 70 to 80 metres (230–260 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bering cisco</span> Species of fish

The Bering cisco or Lauretta whitefish is a freshwater whitefish found in Alaska and part of Russia. It is often considered to be the same species as the more common Arctic cisco.

<i>Coregonus maraena</i> Species of fish

Coregonus maraena, referred to in English as the maraene, maraena whitefish or the whitefish, is a whitefish of the family Salmonidae that occurs in the Baltic Sea basin - in the sea itself and the inflowing rivers, and in several lakes as landlocked populations. It is found in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Sweden. As of 2013, it has been listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN and as endangered by HELCOM. It is an extremely important fish within the Baltic Sea ecosystem, both for population equilibrium and for the local diets of the surrounding human population. Due to a variety of factors, mostly overfishing, the maraena’s population dwindled to near-extinction levels. Thus, rampant repopulation was enacted to preserve this important fish.

Coregonus widegreni, also called the Valaam whitefish, is a putative species of freshwater whitefish, a part of the common whitefish complex from Northern Europe. It is a demersal form of freshwater whitefish that feeds on benthic invertebrates. It spawns in late autumn, and can reach a length of 55 cm maximum. It is characterized by a low gill raker density.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus nasus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T5370A11124496. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T5370A11124496.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Froese and Pauly, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 Page and Burr, 1991, p. 39
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alaska Natural Heritage Program, 2005
  5. ↑ Harris, 2008
  6. ↑ Machacek, 2010
  7. ↑ Reist et al., 1987
  8. ↑ Stroganina: Frozen Sashimi of the Russian Arctic - Roads & Kingdoms
  9. ↑ Barker and Derocher, 2009

Literature cited

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