Sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys)

Scientific name: Stenodus leucichthys G?ldenst?dt, 1772

Sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys)

The Sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys) is a freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae.

Biology

Nerito-pelagic. Occurs in coastal brackish waters near mouths of rivers, but usually in rivers or some land-locked lakes. At the sea, it is found throughout basin in pelagic zone with temperatures below 18? C and 20-50 m deep. Juveniles and adult overwinter and forage at the sea. Encountered in large lowland rivers during migration. Adults feed mostly on small fishes; young eat aquatic insect larvae and planktonic crustaceans. During spawning migration, it feeds little if at all. Spawns on gravel shallows. Flesh is white, sweet and slightly oily. Sold fresh or frozen.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Stenodus leucichthys
Family
Salmonidae (Salmonids)
Order
Salmoniformes (Salmons)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
150
Common length
61.0
Depth range
10 m (33 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; anadromous; depth range 10 - ? m
Climate
Boreal
Distribution
North America: Arctic drainages from Anderson River in Northwest Territories, Canada to Kuskokwim River (Bering Sea tributary) in Alaska. Upstream in Mackenzie River and Yukon River drainages to British Columbia, Canada. Eurasia: Caspian Sea (common in central and southern Caspian in summer), Volga, Ural and Terak drainages. Hybridization with Coregonus nelsoni, Coregonus autumnalis and Coregonus muksun are due more to the broadcasting of eggs and sperm rather than pairing between species or genera
Conservation status (IUCN)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.05-0.10; tm=9-12; tmax=22; Fec=80,000)

Sources

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

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