Coregonus clupeaformis

The lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake whitefish is sometimes referred to as a 'humpback' fish due to the small size of the head in relation to the length of the body. It is a valuable commercial fish, and also occasionally taken by sport fishermen. Smoked, refrigerated, vacuum-packed lake whitefish fillets are available in North American grocery stores. Other vernacular names used for this fish include Otsego bass, Sault whitefish, gizzard fish, common whitefish, eastern whitefish, Great Lakes whitefish, humpback whitefish, inland whitefish and whitefish. The scientific genus name Coregonus (co-regg'-on-us) means 'angle eye' in Greek and the species name clupeaformis means 'herring-shaped' in Latin. Lake whitefish are similar in appearance to other whitefishes in the Coregoninae subfamily of the salmon family Salmonidae, such as the northern cisco (Corgenous artedi). As with all salmonids, they have an adipose fin. To the distinction from cisco, the lake whitefish has a snout which overhangs the short lower jaw, so that the mouth opens in a slightly inferior position. Thus the fish can feed on the bottom of lake beds or grab food particulates out of the water or from the surface of a water body. The cisco in turn has a short snout with a lower jaw that extends beyond the snout. Both the cisco and lake whitefish are discernible from the mooneye due to the small posterior dorsal adipose fin. Another notable feature of the lake whitefish is the presence of two small flaps in each nostril. Their coloration is typically silver to white with an olive to pale-green or brown dorsal hues. The ventral fins are white and the tail has a dark posterior edge. The tail fin of the lake whitefish is severely forked, making it a fast swimmer. Lake whitefish from inland lakes can reach a weight upwards of 5 pounds (2,300 g) (the largest Lake Whitefish caught on rod and reel is 15pounds 6 oz from Clear Lake Ontario Canada on May 21, 1983 by Chris T. D. Webster according to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward Wis USA]]). On average, the lake whitefish weighs only 4 pounds. They can grow to 31 inches (79 cm) and commonly reach 20 inches (51 cm). Lake whitefish are cool water fish. They are found in a large number of inland lakes, and they have been known to enter brackish waters. The lake whitefish is distributed from Alaska and western Canada to the Atlantic coastal drainage of Maine and in New Brunswick north to Labrador. Lake whitefish spawn from September through January in water two to four metres in depth during the night. In the autumn, mature lake whitefish enter the shallows to lay their eggs on shoals of rubble and gravel. There is no parental care of the young. In the following spring the young will hatch. In northwestern Canada, a large spawning migration enters the Athabasca Delta in late summer, moving upstream in the Athabasca River. The longest single movement of a tagged whitefish ever recorded was 388 km (241 mi), from Fort McMurray to the north shore of Lake Athabasca in Alberta, Canada. Fish of larval and postlarval stages feed on plankton. Once the larvae reach 3–4 inches (76–102 mm) they switch to feeding on bottom-dwelling animals (snail, insect larvae, zebra mussels, and fingernail clams) which they will consume for the remainder of their lives. In late June and July, some inland lake populations of ciscoes and lake whitefish leave the deep, cool waters to feast on emerging mayflies and midges. The lake whitefish's natural predators include burbot, lake trout, and northern pike. Lake whitefish is one of the most important species for commercial inland fisheries in North America. The total annual catch in 1999 from Canada was 8 328 t and USA 5 353 t reported by the FAO.