Atlantic whitefish

Atlantic whitefish
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Salmoniformes
Family:	Salmonidae
Genus:	Coregonus
Species:	C. huntsmani
Binomial name
Coregonus huntsmani Scott 1987
Synonyms
Coregonus canadensis Scott 1967

The Atlantic whitefish (Coregonus huntsmani) is a freshwater salmonid fish inhabiting the northwestern Atlantic ocean around the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, as well as some freshwater lakes within Nova Scotia. C. huntsmani was originally designated Coregonus canadensis, but the species name was changed in 1987. Other common names that C. huntsmani is known by are Acadian whitefish, sault whitefish, and cisco. The species was designated as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union in 1986 and in 1970, Nova Scotia prohibited the taking of Atlantic whitefish under the Canadian Fisheries Act.

The Atlantic whitefish has a typical salmonid body shape and is silvery on the sides and underside with a dark blue to dark green back. They are anadromous, living most of their adult lives in coastal ocean water, but spawning in inland streams in Nova Scotia. Although much about them is unknown, it is believed that they feed on amphipods, small periwinkles, and marine worms in ocean coastal waters and small fish, fish eggs, and invertebrates in freshwater.

References

• Gimenez Dixon, M. (1996). Coregonus huntsmani. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 01 July 2006.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Coregonus huntsmani" in FishBase. 06 2006 version.
• "Coregonus canadensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=161973. Retrieved 12 June 2006. 

External links

• Factsheet from the Canadian government's Species at Risk Act (SARA)
• Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture factsheet
• World Register of Marine Species entry