Jump to content

Burbot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burbot
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gadiformes
Family: Lotidae
Genus: Lota
Oken,1817
Species:
L. lota
Binomial name
Lota lota
Synonyms
  • Gadus lotaLinnaeus, 1758
  • Enchelyopus lota(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Molva lota(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Gadus lacustrisWalbaum,1792
  • Gadus maculosusLesueur,1817
  • Lota maculosa(Lesueur, 1817)
  • Molva maculosa(Lesueur, 1817)
  • Gadus compressusLesueur, 1817
  • Lota compressa(Lesueur, 1817)
  • Lota vulgarisFitzinger,1832
  • Lota fluviatilisPerty,1832
  • Lota marmorataKoch,1840
  • Lota inornataDeKay,1842
  • Lota brosmianaStorer,1842
  • Lota communisRapp,1854
  • Lota linneiMalm,1877
Burbot,Lota lota

Theburbot(Lota lota), also known asbubbot,[2]mariah,[3]loche,cusk,[4]freshwater cod,[5]freshwater ling,freshwater cusk,the lawyer,coney-fish,lingcod,[6]oreelpout,is aspeciesofcoldwaterray-finned fishnative to thesubarcticregions of theNorthern hemisphere.It is theonly memberof thegenusLota,and is the onlyfreshwaterspecies of theorderGadiformes.The species is closely related tomarine fishsuch as thecommon lingandcusk,all of which belong to thefamilyLotidae(rocklings).

Etymology

[edit]

The name burbot comes from the Latin wordbarba,meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker, orbarbel.[7]Its generic and specific names,Lota lota,comes from theold French[8]lottefish, which is also named "barbot" in Old French.

Description

[edit]

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.[7]The body is elongated and laterally compressed, with a flattened head and single, tube-like projection for each nostril. The mouth is wide, with both upper and lower jaws having many small teeth. Burbot have two softdorsal fins,with the first being low and short, and the second being much longer. Theanal finis low and almost as long as the dorsal fin. Thecaudal finis rounded, thepectoral finsare fan-shaped, andpelvic finsare narrow with an elongated second fin ray. Having such small fins relative to body size indicates abenthiclifestyle with low swimming endurance, unable to withstand strong currents.

Geographic distribution

[edit]

Burbot havecircumpolar distributionabove 40° N. Populations are continuous fromFranceacross Europe and chiefly Russian Asia to theBering Strait.In North America, burbot range from theSeward Peninsulain Alaska toNew Brunswickalong the Atlantic Coast. Burbot are most common instreamsandlakesof North America and Europe. They are fairly common inLake Erie,but are also found in the otherGreat Lakes.[9]Ananadromouspopulation also lives in the brackish waters of theBaltic Sea.[10]Recent genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making this single taxon somewhat misleading.[11]

United Kingdom

[edit]
Burbot European geographic distribution

In theUnited Kingdom,the burbot is possibly extinct. The last recorded capture was a specimen weighing 0.48 kg (1.1 lb), in July 1970, by Stephen Mackinder, from theCut-off Channelor theGreat Ouse Relief Channel,atDenver,Norfolk.[12]In October 1970, it was described in theGuinness Book of Recordsas the "rarest British fish" which was "almost extinct", so it had been "agreed that no record for this species should be published, at least until 1974, in the interests of conservation".[13]The burbot may still survive in the UK. The counties ofCambridgeshire,Norfolk[14]andYorkshire(particularly theRiver DerwentorYorkshire Ouse) seem to be the strongest candidates for areas in which the species might yet survive.[citation needed]Plans to reintroduce this freshwater member of the cod family back into British waters are under investigation.[5]

Ecology

[edit]

Habitat

[edit]

Burbot live in large, cold rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, primarily preferring freshwater habitats, but able to thrive inbrackishenvironments for spawning. For some time of the year, the burbot lives under ice, and it requires frigid temperatures to breed.[15]During the summer, they are typically found in the colder water below thethermocline.In Lake Superior, burbot can live at depths below 300 m (980 ft).[11]Asbenthic fish,they tolerate an array of substrate types, including mud, sand, rubble, boulder, silt, and gravel, for feeding.[16]Adults construct extensive burrows in the substrate for shelter during the day. Burbot are activecrepuscularhunters.[11]Burbot populations are adfluvial during the winter, and they migrate to near-shore reefs and shoals to spawn,[11]preferring spawning grounds of sand or gravel.[16]

Life history

[edit]

Burbot reach sexual maturity at between four and seven years of age.[17]Spawning season typically occurs between December and March, often under ice at extremely low temperatures ranging between 1 and 4 °C. During a relatively short season lasting from two to three weeks, burbot spawn multiple times, but not every year.[11]

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. When spawning, many male burbot gather around one or two females, forming a spawning ball. Writhing in the open water, males and females simultaneously release sperm and eggs. Depending on water temperatures, the incubation period of the eggs lasts from 30 to 128 days. Fertilized eggs then drift until they settle into cracks and voids in the substrate.[17]

Depending on body size, female burbot fecundity ranges from 63,000 to 3,478,000 eggs for each clutch.[11]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. 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).[11]

Newly hatched burbot larvae arepelagic,passively drifting in the open water. Habitats near 4 °C (39 °F) are optimal for burbot and they prefer water temperatures of 12 °C (54 °F) and lower.[17]By night, juveniles are active, taking shelter during the day under rocks and other debris. Growing rapidly in their first year, burbot reach between 11 and 12 cm (4.3 and 4.7 in) in total length by late fall.[11]During their second year of life, burbot on average grow another 10 cm (3.9 in).[18]

Burbot transition from pelagic habitats to benthic environments as they reach adulthood, around five years old. Average length of burbot by maturity is about 40 cm (16 in), with slight sexual dimorphism.[18]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).

Diet and predators

[edit]

At the larval stage, month-old burbot begin exogenous feeding, consuming food through the mouth and digesting in the intestines. Burbot at the larval stage and into the juvenile stage feed on invertebrates based on size. Under 1 cm (0.39 in), burbot eatcopepodsandcladocerans,and above 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in),zooplanktonandamphipods.As adults, they are primarilypiscivores,preying onlamprey,whitefish,grayling,youngnorthern pike,suckers,stickleback,trout,andperch.[11]At times, burbot also eatinsectsand othermacroinvertebrates,and have been known to eat frogs, snakes, and birds. Having such a wide diet is also correlated to their tendency to bite lures, making them very easy to catch. Burbot are preyed upon by northern pike, muskellunge, and some lamprey species.

Commercial significance

[edit]
An 1879 illustration byAlexander Francis Lydon

A book written in 1590 inEnglandnotes that burbot were so common that they were used to feed hogs.[19]

The burbot is edible. InFinland,itsroeand liver are highly regarded as delicacies, as is the fish itself. An annual spearfishing tournament is held near Roblin,Manitoba.One of the highlights of the tournament is the fish fry, where the day's catch is served deep-fried. When cooked, burbot meat tastes very similar toAmerican lobster,leading to the burbot's nickname of "poor man's lobster".[20]

In the 1920s, Minnesota druggistTheodore "Ted" H. Rowelland his father, Joseph Rowell, a commercial fisherman onLake of the Woods,were using the burbot as feed for the foxes on Joe'sblue foxfarm. 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. Ted Rowell felt it was something in the burbot, so he extracted some oil and sent it away to be assayed. 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. Their vitamin content varies from lake to lake, where their diets may have some variation. 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. The oil is lower in viscosity, and more rapidly digested and assimilated than most other fish-liver oils. Rowell went on to found the Burbot Liver Products Company, which later becameRowell Laboratories, Inc.

Angling

[edit]
Batchawana Bay, Lake Superior

TheIGFArecognizes the world-record burbot as caught onLake Diefenbaker,Saskatchewan, Canada, by Sean Konrad on 27 March 2010. The fish weighed 25 lb 2 oz (11.4 kg).[21]

The burbot is a tenaciouspredator,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. Recent discoveries of burbot in theGreen RiveratFlaming Gorge ReservoirinUtahhave concerned wildlife biologists, who fear the burbot could decimate the sport-fish population in what is recognized as one of the world's topbrown troutfisheries, because it often feeds on the eggs of other fish in the lake, such assockeye salmon.The Utah Division of Fish and Game has instituted a "no release" "catch and kill" regulation for the burbot in Utah waterways.[22]However, the regulations have been found to be largely unenforceable.

The town ofWalker, Minnesota,holds an InternationalEelpout Festivalevery winter onLeech Lake.[23]The festival received national attention on 4 March 2011, when a correspondent fromThe Tonight Show with Jay Lenodid a segment on the event.[citation needed]

Conservation status

[edit]

Burbot populations are difficult to study, due to their deep habitats and reproduction under ice. Although burbot global distribution is widespread and abundant, many populations have been threatened or extirpated. Ichthyologists and taxonomists are strongly advising to look into the old taxonomical due to new genetic insights there are two species of burbot: the European burbot (Lota lota) and the North-American burbot (Lota maculosa).[24] As the burbot lacks popularity incommercial fishing,many regions do not even consider management plans. 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. Management of burbot is on low priority, being nonexistent in some regions.[25]

TheKootenai tribe of Idahoand their partners engaged conservation efforts to the burbot populations.[26]

References

[edit]
  1. ^NatureServe (2013)."Lota lota".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2013:e.T135675A18233691.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T135675A18233691.en.Retrieved19 November2021.
  2. ^"UKDivers.net - Fresh Warter Fish Cards".Archived fromthe originalon 2 November 2012.Retrieved20 September2012.
  3. ^"Environmental Contaminants - Burbot (Loche)".hss.gov.nt.ca.Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services.Retrieved26 May2022.
  4. ^"Cusk: Species Information: Fisheries: Fish & Wildlife: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife".www.maine.gov.Retrieved23 August2021.
  5. ^abBarkham, Patrick (6 March 2020)."Return of the burbot: 'great lost fish' to be reintroduced to UK".The Guardian.
  6. ^Onions, C. T. (1973).The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary(3 ed.). p. 420.
  7. ^ab"Minnesota Profile: Burbot (Lota lota): Minnesota Conservation Volunteer: Minnesota DNR".Archived fromthe originalon 24 May 2012.Retrieved4 May2012.
  8. ^"LOTTE: Etymologie de LOTTE".www.cnrtl.fr.Retrieved6 April2018.
  9. ^Record Burbot Comes from Lake Michigan Waters(10 December 2020)Chicago Sun Times
  10. ^Rohtla, Mehis; Vetemaa, Markus; Taal, Imre; Svirgsden, Roland; Urtson, Kristjan; Saks, Lauri; Verliin, Aare; Kesler, Martin; Saat, Toomas (26 April 2013)."Life history of anadromous burbot (Lota lota, Linneaus) in the brackish Baltic Sea inferred from otolith microchemistry".Ecology of Freshwater Fish.23(2): 141–148.doi:10.1111/eff.12057.
  11. ^abcdefghiMcPhail, J. Donald; Paragamian, Vaughn L."Burbot Biology and Life History"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 November 2010.Retrieved4 May2012.
  12. ^"Stephen beats the burbot hunters". Angling Times. 23 July 1970.
  13. ^The Guinness Book of Recordsseventeenth edition, published October 1970, page 227
  14. ^"Angling: Burbot – little devils may be lurking in East Anglia".Bury Free Press. 31 January 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 3 January 2014.Retrieved20 March2015.
  15. ^"The decline of the 'disgusting' burbot".BBC News.British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 July 2015.Retrieved7 July2015.
  16. ^abCwalinski, Tim A.; Godby Jr., Neal A.; Nuhfer, Andrew J. (2006)."Thunder Bay River Assessment Appendix"(PDF).Michigan Department of Natural Resources.Retrieved16 December2023.
  17. ^abc"Lota lota – Burbot – Northern Rockies Natural History Guide".Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2010.Retrieved4 May2012.
  18. ^abBailey, Merryll M. (1972). "Age, Growth, Reproduction, and Food of the Burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), in Southwestern Lake Superior".Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.101(4): 667–674.Bibcode:1972TrAFS.101..667B.doi:10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<667:AGRAFO>2.0.CO;2.
  19. ^"10 fishy facts about burbots".bbc.co.uk.British Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved7 July2015.
  20. ^"The Poor Man's Lobster of the Tanana Valley, Alaska Department of Fish and Game".www.adfg.alaska.gov.Retrieved4 March2024.
  21. ^"IGFA World Records".www.igfa.org.Archived fromthe originalon 26 February 2012.Retrieved6 April2018.
  22. ^"Ugly, invasive fish spreads into Green River - KSL.com".ksl.com.Retrieved6 April2018.
  23. ^"Annual International Eelpout Festival." Annual International Eelpout Festival. 26 April 2008. 29 May 2008[1]Archived13 March 2018 at theWayback Machine
  24. ^Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 pp.
  25. ^Stapanian, Martin A (2010). "Worldwide status of burbot and conservation measures".Fish and Fisheries.11(1): 34–56.Bibcode:2010AqFF...11...34S.doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2009.00340.x.
  26. ^Tomky, Naomi (26 December 2022)."Conserving Burbot in Idaho".Hook & Barrel Magazine.Retrieved16 April2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toLota lota.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burbot&oldid=1242391142"