Arctic char

Salvelinus alpinus

A northern salmonid with both landlocked and sea-run forms, strongly adapted to cold Arctic and subarctic waters.

Key facts

Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is a carnivore animal classified as Fish · Salmoniformes · Salmonidae.
Primary habitats are freshwater · coast · open ocean, with a range across Arctic Ocean · Atlantic Ocean · Pacific Ocean · Nearctic · Palearctic.
Activity is cathemeral, sociality is loose group, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A northern salmonid with both landlocked and sea-run forms, strongly adapted to cold Arctic and subarctic waters.
Occurs in lakes, rivers, and coasts across northern North America, Greenland, northern Europe, and Siberia, favoring cold oxygen-rich water.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Occurs in lakes, rivers, and coasts across northern North America, Greenland, northern Europe, and Siberia, favoring cold oxygen-rich water.

Color ranges from silvery to dark, with pale spots along the sides. Some spawning fish develop orange or red bellies.

It may school or forage alone in lakes. Sea-run fish move seasonally between coastal waters and freshwater.

It eats aquatic insects, crustaceans, small fish, and plankton. Lake populations can split into different feeding forms.

Spawning occurs over gravel in autumn, and eggs overwinter before hatching. Growth and maturity are slow in cold waters.

Arctic char is among the northernmost freshwater fishes, and warming waters threaten some local populations.