Lake whitefish

Coregonus clupeaformis

A cold-water salmonid of northern North American lakes, foraging near the bottom and supporting regional fisheries.

Key facts

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) is a carnivore animal classified as Fish · Salmoniformes · Salmonidae.
Primary habitats are freshwater, with a range across Nearctic.
Activity is cathemeral, sociality is loose group, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A cold-water salmonid of northern North American lakes, foraging near the bottom and supporting regional fisheries.
Lives in large lakes and cold rivers of Canada and the northern United States, including the Great Lakes, using deep cold water in summer.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

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

Lives in large lakes and cold rivers of Canada and the northern United States, including the Great Lakes, using deep cold water in summer.

The body is silvery-white and moderately deep, with a small downward mouth and an adipose fin on the back.

Loose groups move near lake bottoms. Fish shift between shallow and deep water seasonally and gather near shore to spawn.

It eats aquatic insect larvae, mollusks, small crustaceans, and fish eggs, picking prey from the bottom.

Spawning occurs in autumn over shallow rocky or gravelly bottoms. Eggs develop through winter and hatch in spring.

Lake whitefish is important to commercial and Indigenous fisheries in northern North America and is affected by water quality and invasive species.