It is also known as bubbot,[2] mariah, freshwater ling, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod,[3] freshwater cusk, and eelpout. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Burbot. Burbot Lota lotaare a rather unusual looking fish. Having such small fins relative to body size indicates a benthic lifestyle with low swimming endurance, unable to withstand strong currents. 192 Wheelers Road A2H 6J8, Honourable Elvis Loveless An annual spearfishing tournament is held near Roblin, Manitoba. The Burbot is a voracious night predator, and will eat younger Burbot and other fish species. 29 May 2008, 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T135675A18233691.en, "Is this the last burbot caught in the UK? Range. The burbot is valued as food in some areas.

[7] Burbot populations are adfluvial during the winter, and they migrate to near-shore reefs and shoals to spawn,[7] preferring spawning grounds of sand or gravel. Optimum temperature for this species is between 15.6o to 18.3oC. When cooked, burbot meat tastes very similar to American lobster, leading to the burbot's nickname of "poor man's lobster". Spawning generally occurs in shallow water or on gravel shoals in about five to 10 feet of water. [18], "Annual International Eelpout Festival." In Lake Superior, burbot can live at depths below 300 m (980 ft). In North America, burbot range from the Seward Peninsula in Alaska to New Brunswick along the Atlantic Coast. Burbot are preyed upon by northern pike, muskellunge, and some lamprey species. [7] As benthic fish, they tolerate an array of substrate types, including mud, sand, rubble, boulder, silt, and gravel, for feeding. Warning: It seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser. Eggs are round with a large oil globule, about 1 mm (0.039 in) in diameter and have an optimal incubation range between 1 and 7°C (34 and 45°F). A book written in 1590 in England notes that burbot were so common that they were used to feed hogs.[14]. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Pollution and habitat change, such as river damming, appear to be the primary causes for riverine burbot population declines, while pollution and the adverse effects of invasive species have the greatest influence on lacustrine populations. In Finland, its roe and liver are highly regarded as delicacies, as is the fish itself. Burbot don’t build nests or care for their young. Additionally, liver makes up about 10% of the fish's total body weight, and its liver is six times the size of those of freshwater fish of comparable size. [12], Depending on body size, female burbot fecundity ranges from 63,000 to 3,478,000 eggs for each clutch. The caudal fin is rounded, the pectoral fins are fan-shaped, and pelvic fins are narrow with an elongated second fin ray. They occupy most large clear and glacial rivers and many lakes throughout most of Alaska. Management of burbot is on low priority, being nonexistent in some regions. The burbot (Lota lota) is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. The mouth is wide, with both upper and lower jaws having many small teeth. [16] However, the regulations have been found to be largely unenforceable. At the larval stage, month-old burbot begin exogenous feeding, consuming food through the mouth and digesting in the intestines. [11] Adults construct extensive burrows in the substrate for shelter during the day. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. [13] Maximum lengths range between 30 and 120 cm (12 and 47 in), and weights range from 1.0 to 12 kg (2.2 to 26.5 lb).

Burbot at the larval stage and into the juvenile stage feed on invertebrates based on size. Burbot are most common in streams and lakes of North America and Europe. Minister’s Office.
[7], In the United Kingdom, the burbot is possibly an extinct fish.

They have a delicate white meat, a treat for Alaskans living away from the coast. As adults, they are primarily piscivores, preying on lamprey, whitefish, grayling, young northern pike, suckers, stickleback, trout, and perch. Burbot are active crepuscular hunters. Recent genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making this single taxon somewhat misleading. They discovered the burbot contained something that improved the quality of the foxes' furs; this was confirmed by the fur buyers, who commented that these furs were superior to other furs they were seeing. Though a relatively short season lasting from two to three weeks, burbot spawn multiple times, but not every year. [5] Its generic and specific names, Lota lota, come from the old French[6] lotte fish, which is also named "barbot" in Old French. They have elongated dorsal and anal fins that extend all the way t… The IGFA recognizes the world-record burbot as caught on Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, Canada, by Sean Konrad on 27 March 2010. The last recorded capture was a specimen weighing 1 lb, on 14 September 1969, taken at night by John Dean, at the Old West River (Great Ouse), near Aldreth, Cambridgeshire.

[10], Burbot live in large, cold rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, primarily preferring freshwater habitats, but able to thrive in brackish environments for spawning. Having such a wide diet is also correlated to their tendency to bite lures, making them very easy to catch. Burbot have mottled skin that ranges in color from black to grey to olive and even yellow. [7], As broadcast spawners, burbot do not have an explicit nesting site, but rather release eggs and sperm into the water column to drift and settle. The result of the assay was that the liver of the burbot has three to four times the potency in vitamin D, and four to 10 times in vitamin A, than "good grades" of cod-liver oil. Found in all provinces and territories of Canada. Writhing in the open water, males and females simultaneously release sperm and eggs. They are fairly common in Lake Erie, but are also found in the other Great Lakes. (2006). One of the few freshwater fish that spawns under ice in midwinter under the ice, usually between January to March depending on latitude.

Habitats about 12°C (54°F) are known to be intolerable for larval burbot.

For some time of the year, the burbot lives under ice, and it requires frigid temperatures to breed.[4]. This page and all contents are copyright, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, all rights reserved. The Burbot is a voracious night predator, and will eat younger Burbot and other fish species. Mandate Letter The town of Walker, Minnesota, holds an International Eelpout Festival every winter on Leech Lake. Long, slender body with a large, wide head and small eye; light brown to yellow, with dark brown to black mottling on back and side; two dorsal fins, one short and one long. Found in all provinces and territories of Canada. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. [7], Newly hatched burbot larvae are pelagic, passively drifting in the open water. Male Burbot arrive on the spawning grounds first. This page was last edited on 1 October 2020, at 23:19. In the 1920s, Minnesota druggist Theodore "Ted" H. Rowell and his father, Joseph Rowell, a commercial fisherman on Lake of the Woods, were using the burbot as feed for the foxes on Joe's blue fox farm. One of the highlights of the tournament is the fish fry, where the day's catch is served deep-fried. Box 2006 26 April 2008. [citation needed] Plans to reintroduce this freshwater member of the cod family back into British waters are under investigation. With an appearance like a cross between a catfish and an eel, the burbot has a serpent-like body, but is easily distinguished by a single barbel on the chin. Recent discoveries of burbot in the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah have concerned wildlife biologists, who fear the burbot could decimate the sport-fish population in what is recognized as one of the world's top brown trout fisheries, because it often feeds on the eggs of other fish in the lake, such as sockeye salmon. Article dated 24th September 1969", "Angling: Burbot – little devils may be lurking in East Anglia", "Return of the burbot: 'great lost fish' to be reintroduced to UK", http://www.michigandnr.com/PUBLICATIONS/PDFS/ifr/ifrlibra/special/reports/sr37/SR37_app02_pp108_thru_119.pdf, 10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<667:AGRAFO>2.0.CO;2, "Ugly, invasive fish spreads into Green River - KSL.com", Experts to discuss reintroduction of Burbot to UK, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burbot&oldid=981378299, Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States), Articles with unsourced statements from March 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The oil is lower in viscosity, and more rapidly digested and assimilated than most other fish-liver oils. Populations are continuous from France across Europe and Asia to the Bering Strait. The counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk[9] and Yorkshire (particularly the River Derwent or Yorkshire Ouse) seem to be the strongest candidates for areas in which the species might yet survive. [7] Rate of growth, longevity, and age of sexual maturity of burbot are strongly correlated with water temperature; large, older individuals produce more eggs than small, younger individuals. Mating activity only occurs at night, and spawning grounds are deserted during the day (surface temperatures during spawning run between .6o to 1.7oC). Burbot transition from pelagic habitats to benthic environments as they reach adulthood, around five years old. Corner Brook, NL Their vitamin content varies from lake to lake, where their diets may have some variation. Normally a deep-water resident. Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture



The burbot is a tenacious predator, which sometimes attacks other fish of almost the same size, and as such, can be a nuisance fish in waters where it is not native. [12] By night, juveniles are active, taking shelter during the day under rocks and other debris. Fertilized eggs then drift until they settle into cracks and voids in the substrate. They are fairly common in Lake Erie, but are also found in the other Great Lakes. Burbot, (Lota lota), also called eelpout, elongated fish of the family Lotidae that inhabits cold rivers and lakes of Europe, Asia, and North America. Burbot are known by a number of different names including lawyer, loache, eel pout, methy, … The burbot is edible. The species is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk. Annual International Eelpout Festival. The name burbot comes from the Latin word barba, meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker, or barbel. When spawning, many male burbot gather around one or two females, forming a spawning ball. Under 1 cm, burbot eat copepods and cladocerans, and above 1 and 2 cm, zooplankton and amphipods. Burbot eggs hatch in about 30 days, and the young appear between February and June.

Although burbot global distribution is widespread and abundant, many populations have been threatened or extirpated. They are not the most attractive fish and generally do not fight hard; however, they are popular with sport and subsistence users because of their table quality. Range and Habitat. Average length of burbot by maturity is about 40 cm (16 in), with slight sexual dimorphism. Burbot have two soft dorsal fins, with the first being low and short, and the second being much longer. Please enable JavaScript to improve your experience. P.O.

Burbot populations are difficult to study, due to their deep habitats and reproduction under ice.