Lake herring facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lake herring |
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The cisco (scientific name: Coregonus artedi) is a type of freshwater whitefish found in North America. It belongs to the family called Salmonidae, which also includes salmon and trout. There's some discussion among scientists about how many different types of cisco exist. Sometimes, Coregonus artedi refers to a specific kind of cisco, like those found in the Great Lakes. Other times, it's used more broadly to include many similar cisco fish found across North American lakes.
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What is a Cisco Fish?
When we talk about Coregonus artedi in a specific way, it's known by several common names like cisco, northern cisco, lake herring, chub, or tullibee. The Anishinaabe people call it Odoonibiinh. This fish lives in the middle parts of cold lakes in North America. You can also find it in large rivers, especially in the northern and western areas where it lives.
Cisco fish can grow quite large, sometimes up to 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) long and weigh around 2.3 kilograms (about 5 pounds). However, they are more often about 28 to 38 centimeters (11 to 15 inches) long and weigh between 170 to 907 grams (6 ounces to 2 pounds). They have a slim body and are silvery, often with a pretty pink shine on their sides.
What Do Cisco Eat?
Cisco mainly eat tiny water creatures called zooplankton and insect larvae. Sometimes, they also eat fish eggs and even the young fish of their own kind. They might also snack on small fish, including some types of minnows.
Who Eats Cisco?
Northern cisco are an important food source for many other animals. They are a favorite meal for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Other fish that prey on cisco include rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), northern pike (Esox lucius), burbot (Lota lota), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and walleye (Sander vitreum).
Cisco in the Great Lakes
The number of northern cisco in the North American Great Lakes is much lower now than it was in the 1800s. They used to be common in all five Great Lakes, but now they are mostly found in Lake Superior. The population in Lake Huron has been growing recently, possibly because there are fewer alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) fish, which compete with cisco. A small number of cisco have also started to appear again in Lake Michigan's Green Bay. However, their numbers in Lakes Erie and Ontario are still much lower than they used to be.
Scientists believe this decline is due to several reasons. One big reason is the spread of non-native species like alewife, rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). These new species eat cisco and compete with them for food. It's also not clear how the yearly release of millions of non-native Pacific salmon into the Great Lakes has affected the cisco.
Pollution and damage to the environment in some areas have also hurt cisco populations. This makes them more sensitive to fishing, even at levels that were once safe. Cisco are also very sensitive to changes in water temperature and how much oxygen is in the water.
Fishing for Cisco
Northern cisco are caught both for commercial purposes and for fun.
Commercial Fishing
Commercial fishing for northern cisco is very important for communities around Lake Superior and the Northern Channel of Lake Huron. This type of fishing started in the 1800s. At first, in Lake Ontario, cisco were sometimes thrown away because people thought they were a nuisance. But by 1833, people realized cisco were good to eat, even better than the related lake whitefish. In Ontario, about 328 tonnes of northern cisco were caught in 2018. This number is lower than in previous years, which was done on purpose to help the cisco population recover.
While cisco are still eaten by many people, their eggs (called roe) are very valuable. Caviar made from northern cisco roe has become popular in Scandinavian countries, which drives much of the demand for cisco today. Smaller cisco can also be caught and sold as bait for people who fish for fun.
Recreational Fishing
People enjoy fishing for northern cisco in many parts of the United States and Canada. They are especially popular to catch while ice fishing, as they tend to be in shallower waters during winter. Recreational fishing for cisco isn't just in the Great Lakes. For example, ice fishing for cisco is very popular in Lake Simcoe, where the fishery reopened in 2015 after the cisco population successfully recovered.
Images for kids
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A cisco fish, also known as lake herring.
See also
In Spanish: Coregonus artedi para niños
