Latin name

Stenodus nelma

Other name

Sheefish, siifish, inconnu, connie, stenodus nelma, salmo nelma, stenodus leucichthys nelma, salmo mackenzii, stenodus leucichthys mackenzii, stenodus mackenzii, leucichthys nelma.

Identification

Nelma has a spindle-shaped body that is slightly flattened on the sides. Its mouth is large, and its lower jaw protrudes. It has many small, sharp teeth, even on its tongue. There are approximately 100 scales along the lateral line.

Features of fish fins

This species of fish has eight small fins. The dorsal fin is high and pointed. The caudal fin is distinctly bifurcated and equally lobed.

Fish colouring

The nelma is typically silver with a green, blue, or brown back.

Distribution

This species is found in the Arctic Ocean basin, extending from the Ponoi River in the White Sea basin eastward to the Anadyr River in Siberia, the Yukon River in Alaska, and the Mackenzie River in Canada.

Habitat

It inhabits the pelagic zone of the sea, which has a salinity level of up to 20%. It inhabits large plains and foothill rivers and lakes. It prefers cold water with temperatures below 16°C. It overwinters for a long time in the lower reaches of large rivers, deltas, and estuaries, as well as in the sea, sometimes far from the coast.

Size

This species of fish can grow up to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 40 kilograms. Its life cycle lasts up to 22 years.

Behavior

It is a passable or semi-passable fish with resident (freshwater) forms. They feed and grow in the freshened areas of seas or the lower reaches of rivers and spawn in the upper reaches of rivers. They can migrate more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) upriver to their spawning grounds, but some populations spend their entire lives in freshwater and do not migrate.

Food and feeding habits

It is a predator from the first year of life. Its diet consists of smelt, whitefish, young whitefish, and young carp and perch.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in the fall, mainly in the second half of September and October, at water temperatures ranging from 3 to 6°. It takes place primarily in fast-moving areas with sandy-pebbly soil. The fecundity rate is 125,000 to 420,000 eggs. The eggs develop between stones throughout the winter.

Fishing

It is a valuable commercial fish and an object of breeding.

Relationship with a person

Harmless. These fish have white, flaky, slightly oily meat.