Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis – scientific name
Trouts (Salmonidae) Family
The Lake Whitefish is somewhat similar to cisco, smelt, and shiners. White Fish a Native Fish in Michigan and Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states, the term whitefish refers to a specific freshwater native fish, coregonus clupeaformis.
The lake whitefish, a fast-growing member of the trout/salmon family Salmonidae. In lakes Superior and Michigan, whitefish live in depths between 100 and 300 feet, and they sometimes move to shallower water at night to feed.
Lake whitefish are a cool water fish that spawn in November and December, usually in the shallows. Lake whitefish school up in the dark, cool depths of the Great Lakes, sometimes going as deep as 300 feet.
The lake whitefish prefers to swim in the company of the school of fellow whitefish in the Great Lakes at depths of up to 100 to 300 feet as summer’s heat climbs.
Lake whitefish occur in Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron and in many deep, cool-water lakes. They are present in many lakes in the Boundary Waters and in lakes of the Upper Mississippi River drainage. They require cool deep water, well-oxygenated water in the summertime.
Lake trout, northern pike, burbot and walleye will eat whitefish in the great lakes and deep water lakes. Whitefish are silvery with a pale green-brown back are characterized by a small head with a blunt snout.
Lake Whitefish is good to eat. It has a sweet, light flavor that many can appreciate. It has a mild taste good for almost any method of cooking. Great Lakes Whitefish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Whitefish generate the greatest income for Great Lakes commercial fisheries in United States and Canada. Commercial fishing, for the most part, is carried out by means of trapnets and gillnets set during the open water season.
Health : Local waters have PCBs, dioxin, mercury, PFOS, and other chemicals that can be found in fish and stay in our environment for a very long time.
Be aware of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – The Eat Safe Fish Guide (ESF Guide)
Wisconsin has the a health guide for eating fish in Wisconsin – Choose Wisely Contaminate Advisories for Wisconsin
