Lake Trout
■ Type: Fish
■ Diet: Omnivore
■ Average lifespan in the wild: May exceed 25 years
■ Size: Up to 38.5 in (98.7 cm)
■ Weight: 46.3 kg (102 lbs.)
■ Group name: Blind or Run
■ Apperance:
■ Diet: Omnivore
■ Average lifespan in the wild: May exceed 25 years
■ Size: Up to 38.5 in (98.7 cm)
■ Weight: 46.3 kg (102 lbs.)
■ Group name: Blind or Run
■ Apperance:
Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans. Lake trout are prized both as game fish and as food fish. Lake trout are the largest of the charrs. An elongate, trout-like body with a stout head; a large mouth and a snout which usually protrudes over the lower jaw when the mouth is closed; the overall body colour, including the head, dorsal, adipose and caudal fins, consists of white or yellowish spots on a dark green to grayish background; the underside is white, and sometimes the paired fins are an orange-red colour, especially in northern populations.
Lake trout inhabit cold, oxygen-rich waters. They are pelagic during the period of summer stratification in dimictic lakes, often living at depths of 20–60 m (60–200 ft).
The lake trout is a slow growing fish, typical of oligotrophic waters. It is also very late to mature. Populations are extremely susceptible to overexploitation. Many native lake trout populations have been severely damaged through the combined effects of hatchery stocking (planting) and overharvest.
It is generally accepted that there are two basic types of lake trout populations. Some lakes do not have pelagic forage fish during the period of summer stratification. In these lakes, lake trout take on a life history known as planktivory. Lake trout in planktivorous populations are highly abundant, grow very slowly and mature at relatively small size. In those lakes that do contain deep water forage, lake trout become piscivorous. Piscivorous lake trout grow much more quickly, mature at a larger size and are less abundant. Notwithstanding differences in abundance, the density of biomass of lake trout is fairly consistent in similar lakes, regardless of whether the lake trout populations they contain are planktivorous or piscivorous.
In Lake Superior, three distinct phenotypes of lake trout persist, commonly known as "siscowet", "paperbelly" and "lean". The distinct groups operate, to some level at least, under genetic control and are not mere environmental adaptations. Siscowet numbers, especially, have become greatly depressed over the years due to a combination of the extirpation of some of the fish's deep water coregonine prey and to overexploitation. Siscowet tend to grow extremely large and fat and attracted great commercial interest in the last century. Siscowet populations have rebounded since 1970, with one estimate putting the number in Lake Superior at 100 million
Lake trout have been known, very rarely, to hybridze in nature with the brook trout, but such hybrids, known as "splake", are almost invariably reproductively sterile. Splake are also artificially propagated in hatcheries and then planted into lakes in an effort to provide sport fishing opportunities.
Lake trout inhabit cold, oxygen-rich waters. They are pelagic during the period of summer stratification in dimictic lakes, often living at depths of 20–60 m (60–200 ft).
The lake trout is a slow growing fish, typical of oligotrophic waters. It is also very late to mature. Populations are extremely susceptible to overexploitation. Many native lake trout populations have been severely damaged through the combined effects of hatchery stocking (planting) and overharvest.
It is generally accepted that there are two basic types of lake trout populations. Some lakes do not have pelagic forage fish during the period of summer stratification. In these lakes, lake trout take on a life history known as planktivory. Lake trout in planktivorous populations are highly abundant, grow very slowly and mature at relatively small size. In those lakes that do contain deep water forage, lake trout become piscivorous. Piscivorous lake trout grow much more quickly, mature at a larger size and are less abundant. Notwithstanding differences in abundance, the density of biomass of lake trout is fairly consistent in similar lakes, regardless of whether the lake trout populations they contain are planktivorous or piscivorous.
In Lake Superior, three distinct phenotypes of lake trout persist, commonly known as "siscowet", "paperbelly" and "lean". The distinct groups operate, to some level at least, under genetic control and are not mere environmental adaptations. Siscowet numbers, especially, have become greatly depressed over the years due to a combination of the extirpation of some of the fish's deep water coregonine prey and to overexploitation. Siscowet tend to grow extremely large and fat and attracted great commercial interest in the last century. Siscowet populations have rebounded since 1970, with one estimate putting the number in Lake Superior at 100 million
Lake trout have been known, very rarely, to hybridze in nature with the brook trout, but such hybrids, known as "splake", are almost invariably reproductively sterile. Splake are also artificially propagated in hatcheries and then planted into lakes in an effort to provide sport fishing opportunities.
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⋆All info I took out of here:
- http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_18958-45670--,00.html
- http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/regions/central/pub/factsheets-feuilletsinfos-ogla-rglo/laketrout-touladi-eng.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_trout
⋆All pictures I took out of Wikipedia and Flickr:
- http://www.wikipedia.org/
Special thanks to MoonShine to help to found this info.
- http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_18958-45670--,00.html
- http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/regions/central/pub/factsheets-feuilletsinfos-ogla-rglo/laketrout-touladi-eng.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_trout
⋆All pictures I took out of Wikipedia and Flickr:
- http://www.wikipedia.org/
Special thanks to MoonShine to help to found this info.