Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

Scientific name: Coregonus clupeaformis Mitchill, 1818

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

The Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) is a freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae.

Biology

Primarily a lake dweller. Also found in large rivers and enters brackish water. Nerito-pelagic. Appears to be rather sedentary, at least in the Great Lakes. Movement in large lakes generally consists of 4 stages: movement from deep to shallow water in the spring; movement back to deep water in the summer as the shoal water warms; migration to shallow-water spawning areas in the fall and early winter; and post-spawning movement back to deeper water. Forms separate populations in large lakes. Adults feed mainly on aquatic insect larvae, mollusks and amphipods, but also other fishes and fish eggs, including their own. Extensive hatchery programs for the propagation have been carried out on the Great Lakes and other areas for years. Va

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Coregonus clupeaformis
Family
Salmonidae (Salmonids)
Order
Salmoniformes (Salmons)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
100.0
Common length
54.1
Depth range
18–128 m (59–420 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; anadromous; depth range 18 - 128 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
North America: throughout Alaska and most of Canada south into New England, the Great Lakes basin, and central Minnesota. This species was stocked into high Andean lakes in two countries in southern Latin America. Probably conspecific with Coregonus lavaretus. Belongs to Coregonus clupeaformis complex.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.19; tmax=50)

More other freshwater fish

See all other freshwater fish

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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