Description
Appearance
- Lake whitefish are olive-green to blue on the back, with silvery sides.
- They have a small mouth below a rounded snout, and a deeply forked tail.
Natural History
Habitat
- Whitefish are mostly found in larger lakes in Alberta, where they prefer deep, cool water.
Food
- Mainly bottom feeders, lake whitefish eat crustaceans, snails, insects and other small aquatic organisms.
Reproduction and Growth
Spawning Behaviour
- Lake whitefish spawn from September through January in water two to four metres (6.5 to 13 feet) in depth.
- 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 kilometres (240 miles), from Fort McMurray to the north shore of Lake Athabasca.
Growth
- Most lake whitefish mature by age-6 or 7; males mature at a younger age than females.
- Large, old fish may develop a hump behind head (nuchal hump).
Conservation and Management
Status
Lake whitefish are classified as Secure in the current General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. See:
Current management
Fishing
Anglers target whitefish primarily during the winter ice fishery.
Lake whitefish are cold-water game fish subject to current Alberta sportfishing regulations. For details, see the My Wild Alberta website at:
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