Whitefish

Family Coregonidae

REMARKS The family Coregonidae is essentially a family of freshwater fish. But two of the species come out into the Baltic and are taken there as part of the sea fisheries; and to the north of the Arctic circle, especially in Canadian waters, this pattern of migration to and from the sea is common.

The larger of the two Baltic species is Coregonus lavaretus (Linnaeus), shown in the upper drawing. It is the same as the freshwater houting which goes under such local names as powan (Loch Lomond), skelly (the English Lake District) and gwyniad (Wales). Its usual adult length in the Baltic is 40 to 55 cm. It is silvery in colour with a greenish-brown back. The Finns call it siika, the Swedes sik and the Danes heft. It is an excellent fish; and smoked whitefish, for which a recipe is given, is particularly good. Whitefish roe is used, in Finland for example, to make a sort of orange caviar; salty but quite good.