Information AboutCisco (fish) |
The Northern Cisco (''Coregonus artedi'') is a species of Fish in the Salmon Family (family Salmonidae ). The Northern Cisco occasionally grows as large as 400 mm and 5 pounds (2.3 kg). It has silver sides. They live in cold water lakes and rivers in North America and eat Zooplankton and insect larvae. It is a pelagic fish occurring in the midwater zone of lakes, related to the lake Whitefish . They are preyed upon by game fish, like Pike and Lake Trout , and are fished commercially and for sport in some locations. Commercial fishing, Salmon stocking and competition from non-native Alewives and Smelt have almost eliminated cisco from the Great Lakes . Their ongoing population decline today in the lower Great Lakes is believed to be principally a result of alewife competition although other factors may also be at work. There are several species of ciscos. The Northern Cisco is the most common. Other cisco species include the Blackfin Cisco, Nipigon Cisco, Shortjaw Cisco, Kiyi, Bloater, Shortnose Cisco, Longjaw Cisco, Arctic Cisco, Bering Cisco, Deepwater Cisco, and Bonneville Cisco. The Longjaw, Blackfin, and Deepwater Cisco have sadly become extinct. The primary reasons for cisco decline are the invasion of the Sea Lamprey into the Great Lakes , competition from the exotic Alewives and Smelt , and habitat degradation. The cisco is also known as the lake herring or the tullibee. Ciscos are commonly smoked for human consumption. Fisherman target ciscos through the ice in late winter. These small, slender-bodied relatives of the lake whitefish school at depths that vary with seasonal temperatures. They feed on plankton, insects and fish eggs. Herring once lived in Lake Michigan in almost unbelievable abundance. In fact, as a forage fish, they were to lake trout and other aquatic predators what the rabbit has always been to land predators. In the last century, herring provided some of the largest catches from the Great Lakes and, when salted down or smoked for preservation, provisioned much of the developing country. In the 20th century, these indigenous Great Lakes fish succumbed to pollution and fishing pressures -- not to mention competition from alewives and smelt. However, with the alewife and smelt in decline in the 1980s, herring populations are once more thriving near the Apostle Islands and other regions of western Lake Superior, where Minnesota is stocking them. Solid populations also inhabit the St. Marys River and northern Lake Huron. Limited numbers have also reappeared in Lake Michigan's lower Green Bay. Two ''Gato''-class Submarine s of the United States Navy were named for this species during the Second World War , USS ''Tullibee'' and USS ''Cisco'' . REFERENCES |
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