Coregonus albula
Encyclopedia
The vendace, Coregonus albula, is a species of freshwater whitefish
in the family Salmonidae
. It is also known as the European cisco. It is found in lakes in northern Europe, especially Finland
, Sweden
, Russia
and Estonia
, and in some lakes of the United Kingdom
, northern Germany
and Poland
. It is found also in diluted brackish water in the Gulf of Finland
and the Gulf of Bothnia
of the Baltic Sea
.
Vendace mainly feed on zooplankton, such as small crustacean
s and their larvae. The fish live in schools made up of large groups of individuals. They lay their eggs on pebbly or sandy ground. The length of an adult is normally about 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The maximum age reached by this fish is about ten years.
The vendace is traditionally the most important target of freshwater fisheries in parts of Fennoscandia
and Russia. Vendace roe
is considered a delicacy and the famous Caviar of Kalix
(Kalix vendace roe) is produced in the Swedish Bothnian Bay
archipelago.
, the British populations of vendace are a separate species, Coregonus vandesius
, but this distinction is not accepted by all scientists.
Coregonus albula generally breeds in the autumn, but in several North European lakes distinct spring-spawning populations of vendace exist, some of which have been described as separate species: in Sweden, as Coregonus trybomi
, and in two lakes of northern Germany, as Coregonus fontanae
and Coregonus lucinensis. These populations are sympatric with autumn-spawning vendace, and seem to have evolved post-glacially from them independently in each lake.
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
in the family Salmonidae
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
. It is also known as the European cisco. It is found in lakes in northern Europe, especially Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, and in some lakes of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It is found also in diluted brackish water in the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
and the Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
Vendace mainly feed on zooplankton, such as small crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s and their larvae. The fish live in schools made up of large groups of individuals. They lay their eggs on pebbly or sandy ground. The length of an adult is normally about 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The maximum age reached by this fish is about ten years.
The vendace is traditionally the most important target of freshwater fisheries in parts of Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
and Russia. Vendace roe
Roe
Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...
is considered a delicacy and the famous Caviar of Kalix
Caviar of Kalix
Caviar of Kalix is a caviar harvested from a bleak in the cold brackish waters of the Bothnian Bay in northern Sweden. The roe harvest normally starts late September and continues to when the bleak is ready for lek around late October...
(Kalix vendace roe) is produced in the Swedish Bothnian Bay
Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia is the most northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. Its northernmost point is situated in Töre...
archipelago.
Taxonomy
According to FishBaseFishBase
FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...
, the British populations of vendace are a separate species, Coregonus vandesius
Coregonus vandesius
Coregonus vandesius, the vendace, is a freshwater whitefish found in the United Kingdom. Population surveys of this species since the 1960s have revealed a steady decline.-Taxonomy:...
, but this distinction is not accepted by all scientists.
Coregonus albula generally breeds in the autumn, but in several North European lakes distinct spring-spawning populations of vendace exist, some of which have been described as separate species: in Sweden, as Coregonus trybomi
Coregonus trybomi
Coregonus trybomi is a freshwater whitefish in the Salmonidae family, described by Gunnar Svärdson in 1979. It is a spring-spawning type of cisco, which probably has evolved from sympatric vendace independently in a number of Swedish lakes. Only one of those populations survives, and it is...
, and in two lakes of northern Germany, as Coregonus fontanae
Coregonus fontanae
Coregonus fontanae, also known as the Stechlin, Fontane, or Fontane's cisco is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae endemic to the Großer Stechlinsee in northern Germany.- Description :...
and Coregonus lucinensis. These populations are sympatric with autumn-spawning vendace, and seem to have evolved post-glacially from them independently in each lake.