The Peace/Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (PWFWCP)

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Lake Whitefish
Coregonus clupeaformis

What do they look like?

A small-scaled, silvery whitefish with a dark-brownish or bluish colour on its back. The body is deep and compressed laterally in cross section. The anterior dorsal rays extend well beyond the posterior dorsal rays, when depressed. Body length is up to 500 mm. The dorsal fin is sickle-shaped. The snout, when viewed from above, is round. Adults tend to have a hump back appearance, forming a concave brow in profile. Young fish do not have parr marks.

Where do they live?

Little is known about the habitat use of lake whitefish native to B.C. Consequently, most of the information is derived from populations east of the Continental Divide. Like most coregonids, lake whitefish prefer cool water. Adults can tolerate temperatures ranging from near 0°C to about 22°C but they prefer temperatures ranging from about 8 to 14°C. Typically, adult lake whitefish are bottom oriented but seasonally shift their vertical distribution in response to temperature changes. In the spring, when lakes are essentially homothermous, lake whitefish occur at all depths but as lakes warm and stratify during the summer they move to deeper, cooler water. In the Great Lakes they have been recorded at depths of over 100 m. In the fall, as the surface waters cool, they move back into shallow water to spawn. Juvenile lake whitefish occupy similar habitats to those used by adults and in the summer occur in shallower water than adults. Lake whitefish larvae move into shallow water, often within a metre of shore, and associate with emergent vegetation.

What is their life like?

Remarkably little is known about the life history of native lake whitefish in B.C. Like other whitefish, lake whitefish spawn in the fall, usually when water temperatures drop below about 10 °C. Spawning occurs both in lakes and rivers. In B.C., spawning dates vary with latitude and lake size. Spawning may not start until December but in northern parts of the province, or in small lakes, spawning occurs as early as late September. Spawning occurs at night over a variety of substrates (sand, gravel, cobbles, and boulders) at depths ranging from 0.3 m to 30 m. Spawning in rivers usually occurs in shallow riffles or runs with gravel to cobble substrates. No fecundity estimates are available for upper Peace populations but surveys from northern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories give counts ranging from 10,600 to 44,000 eggs. As the eggs are released they are fertilized and fall into cracks and crannies between rocks. Maturity in lake whitefish varies among populations but usually is reached between 4 and 10 years. In regions adjacent to the Peace system, the maximum age of lake whitefish is estimated at about 15 years; however, most age data for whitefish are based on scales and probably underestimate age. So far, the oldest lake whitefish aged by scales was 28 years old.

What do they eat?

Newly hatched lake whitefish complete the absorption of yolk in about three weeks but begin foraging on cyclopoid copepodites and small cladocerans (e.g., Bosmina) within a few days of hatching. During their first summer, the diet of young-of-the-year lake whitefish gradually shifts to larger water column prey (e.g., Daphnia and adult copepods) and eventually to benthic prey. The diet of juveniles and adults consists mainly of benthic organisms (e.g., chironomid larvae, amphipods, gastropods, and occasionally small fish).

What is their distribution? The lake whitefish is widely distributed in North American fresh waters. In B.C., lake whitefish are native to the Alsek, Yukon, Liard, Peace-Mackenzie, upper Fraser, and Skeena drainage systems. In the Fraser system, their natural distribution ends in the vicinity of Williams Lake; however, in the early 20 th century lake whitefish from eastern North America were introduced into lakes in the South Thompson (Shuswap) and lower Fraser (e.g. Coquitlam, Pitt, Harrison, Cultus lakes) systems, as well as lakes in the Okanagan and Columbia systems, and Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. Most introductions into small lakes failed but some of those in large, deep lakes (e.g. Shuswap, Okanagan, Kootenay, and Arrow lakes) were successful.

View Peace Williston distribution map.