View source for Burbot

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=NatureServe |year=2013 |title=''Lota lota'' |page=e.T135675A18233691 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T135675A18233691.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Trüsche Walchensee.jpg
| parent_authority = [[Lorenz Oken|Oken]], 1817
| taxon = Lota lota
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Gadus lota'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
*''Enchelyopus lota'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
*''Molva lota'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
*''Gadus lacustris'' <small>[[Johann Julius Walbaum|Walbaum]], 1792</small>
*''Gadus maculosus'' <small>[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur|Lesueur]], 1817</small>
*''Lota maculosa'' <small>(Lesueur, 1817)</small>
*''Molva maculosa'' <small>(Lesueur, 1817)</small>
*''Gadus compressus'' <small>Lesueur, 1817</small>
*''Lota compressa'' <small>(Lesueur, 1817)</small>
*''Lota vulgaris'' <small>[[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1832</small>
*''Lota fluviatilis'' <small>[[Maximilian Perty|Perty]], 1832</small>
*''Lota marmorata''  <small>[[Carl Ludwig Koch|Koch]], 1840</small>
*''Lota inornata'' <small>[[James Ellsworth De Kay|DeKay]], 1842</small>
*''Lota brosmiana'' <small>[[David Humphreys Storer|Storer]], 1842</small>
*''Lota communis'' <small>[[Wilhelm Ludwig von Rapp|Rapp]], 1854</small>
*''Lota linnei'' <small>[[August Wilhelm Malm|Malm]], 1877</small>
}}
[[File:Lota lota GLERL 1.jpg|thumb|right|Burbot, ''Lota lota'']]
The '''burbot''' ('''''Lota lota'''''), also known as '''bubbot''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukdivers.net/life/fishcards.htm |title=UKDivers.net - Fresh Warter Fish Cards |access-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102080110/http://www.ukdivers.net/life/fishcards.htm |archive-date=2 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> '''mariah''',<ref name="NWT">{{cite web |title=Environmental Contaminants - Burbot (Loche) |url=https://www.hss.gov.nt.ca/en/services/contaminants-environnementaux/burbot-loche |website=hss.gov.nt.ca |publisher=Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref> '''loche''', '''cusk''',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cusk: Species Information: Fisheries: Fish & Wildlife: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife|url=https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/fisheries/species-information/cusk.html#:~:text=their%20thirteenth%20year.-,The%20largest%20angler-caught%20cusk%20recorded%20in%20Maine%20was%2018,barbel%20adorns%20the%20lower%20jaw.|access-date=2021-08-23|website=www.maine.gov}}</ref> '''freshwater cod''',<ref name=guardian2020 /> '''freshwater ling''', '''freshwater cusk''', '''the lawyer''', '''coney-fish''', '''lingcod''',<ref name=SOED3>{{cite book|last1=Onions|first1=C. T.|title=The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary|date=1973|page=420|edition=3}}</ref> or '''eelpout''', is a [[species]] of [[coldwater fish|coldwater]] [[ray-finned fish]] native to the [[subarctic]] regions of the [[Northern hemisphere]]. It is the [[monotypic|only member]] of the [[genus]] '''''Lota''''', and is the only [[freshwater fish|freshwater]] species of the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Gadiformes]]. The species is closely related to [[marine fish]] such as the [[common ling]] and [[cusk (fish)|cusk]], all of which belong to the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Lotidae]] (rocklings).
==Etymology==
The name burbot comes from the Latin word ''barba'', meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker, or [[barbel (anatomy)|barbel]].<ref name="MN DNR">{{cite web|url=http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/janfeb00/burbot_profile.html |title=Minnesota Profile: Burbot (Lota lota): Minnesota Conservation Volunteer: Minnesota DNR |access-date=2012-05-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524113058/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/janfeb00/burbot_profile.html |archive-date=2012-05-24 }}</ref> Its generic and specific names, ''Lota lota'', comes from the [[old French]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/lotte|title=LOTTE : Etymologie de LOTTE|website=www.cnrtl.fr|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> ''lotte'' fish, which is also named "barbot" in Old French.
==Description==
{{Expand section | 1=description/data about which stages of life, this fish/variations are found scaled/leathered/combination|date=May 2016}}
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.<ref name="MN DNR" /> 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 soft [[dorsal fin]]s, with the first being low and short, and the second being much longer. The [[anal fin]] is low and almost as long as the dorsal fin. The [[caudal fin]] is rounded, the [[pectoral fin]]s are fan-shaped, and [[pelvic fin]]s are narrow with an elongated second fin ray. Having such small fins relative to body size indicates a [[benthic]] lifestyle with low swimming endurance, unable to withstand strong currents.
==Geographic distribution==
Burbot have [[circumpolar distribution]] above 40°&nbsp;N. Populations are continuous from [[France]] across Europe and chiefly Russian Asia to the [[Bering Strait]]. In North America, burbot range from the [[Seward Peninsula]] in Alaska to [[New Brunswick]] along the Atlantic Coast. Burbot are most common in [[stream]]s and [[lake]]s of North America and Europe. They are fairly common in [[Lake Erie]], but are also found in the other [[Great Lakes]].<ref name="Sun">[https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/12/8/22163838/burbot-next-illinois-record-fish-comes-lake-michigan-waters Record Burbot Comes from Lake Michigan Waters] (10 December 2020) ''[[Chicago Sun Times]]''</ref> An [[Fish migration#Classification|anadromous]] population also lives in the brackish waters of the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rohtla |first1=Mehis |last2=Vetemaa |first2=Markus |last3=Taal |first3=Imre |last4=Svirgsden |first4=Roland |last5=Urtson |first5=Kristjan |last6=Saks |first6=Lauri |last7=Verliin |first7=Aare |last8=Kesler |first8=Martin |last9=Saat |first9=Toomas |date=2013-04-26 |title=Life history of anadromous burbot (Lota lota, Linneaus) in the brackish Baltic Sea inferred from otolith microchemistry |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eff.12057 |journal=Ecology of Freshwater Fish |volume=23 |issue=2|pages=141–148 |doi=10.1111/eff.12057 }}</ref> Recent genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making this single taxon somewhat misleading.<ref name="Idaho">{{cite web |last1=McPhail |first1=J. Donald |last2=Paragamian |first2=Vaughn L. |title=Burbot Biology and Life History |url=https://research.idfg.idaho.gov/Fisheries%20Research%20Reports/Res03-33McPhail2000%20Burbot%20Biology%20and%20Life%20History.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125023223/https://research.idfg.idaho.gov/Fisheries%20Research%20Reports/Res03-33McPhail2000%20Burbot%20Biology%20and%20Life%20History.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-25 |access-date=2012-05-04 |website=}}</ref>
===United Kingdom===
[[File:RangemapofLotalota.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Burbot European geographic distribution]]
In the [[United Kingdom]], the burbot is possibly extinct. The last recorded capture was a specimen weighing {{convert|0.48|kg|lboz|frac=4|abbr=on}}, in July 1970, by Stephen Mackinder, from the [[Cut-off Channel]] or the [[Great Ouse Relief Channel]], at [[Denver, Norfolk|Denver]], [[Norfolk]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Stephen beats the burbot hunters |publisher=Angling Times |date=23 July 1970}}</ref> In October 1970, it was described in the ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of Records]]'' as 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".<ref>''The Guinness Book of Records'' seventeenth edition, published October 1970, page 227</ref> The burbot may still survive in the UK. The counties of [[Cambridgeshire]], [[Norfolk]]<ref name="burbot2">{{cite web | url=http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/sport/angling-burbot-little-devils-may-be-lurking-in-east-anglia-1-406980 | title=Angling: Burbot – little devils may be lurking in East Anglia | publisher=Bury Free Press | date=2008-01-31 | access-date=20 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103132924/http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/sport/angling-burbot-little-devils-may-be-lurking-in-east-anglia-1-406980 | archive-date=3 January 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Yorkshire]] (particularly the [[River Derwent, Yorkshire|River Derwent]] or [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|Yorkshire Ouse]]) seem to be the strongest candidates for areas in which the species might yet survive.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Plans to reintroduce this freshwater member of the cod family back into British waters are under investigation.<ref name=guardian2020>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/06/return-of-the-burbot-great-lost-fish-to-be-reintroduced-to-uk |title=Return of the burbot: 'great lost fish' to be reintroduced to UK |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Patrick |last=Barkham |date=6 March 2020}}</ref>
==Ecology==
===Habitat===
Burbot live in large, cold rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, primarily preferring freshwater habitats, but able to thrive in [[brackish]] environments for spawning. For some time of the year, the burbot lives under ice, and it requires frigid temperatures to breed.<ref>{{cite news|title=The decline of the 'disgusting' burbot|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33410217|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 July 2015|work=BBC News|date=2015-07-07}}</ref> During the summer, they are typically found in the colder water below the [[thermocline]]. In Lake Superior, burbot can live at depths below {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Idaho" /> As [[benthic fish]], they tolerate an array of substrate types, including mud, sand, rubble, boulder, silt, and gravel, for feeding.<ref name="Michigan">{{Cite web |last1=Cwalinski |first1=Tim A. |last2=Godby Jr. |first2=Neal A. |last3=Nuhfer |first3=Andrew J. |date=2006 |title=Thunder Bay River Assessment Appendix |url=https://www.michigandnr.com/PUBLICATIONS/PDFS/ifr/ifrlibra/special/reports/sr37/SR37_app02_pp108_thru_119.pdf |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=[[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]]}}</ref> Adults construct extensive burrows in the substrate for shelter during the day. Burbot are active [[crepuscular]] hunters.<ref name="Idaho" /> Burbot populations are adfluvial during the winter, and they migrate to near-shore reefs and shoals to spawn,<ref name="Idaho" /> preferring spawning grounds of sand or gravel.<ref name="Michigan" />
=== Life history ===
Burbot reach sexual maturity at between four and seven years of age.<ref name="NHGuide">{{cite web|url=http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c%3Dfish%26m%3Ddesc%26id%3D6 |title=Lota lota – Burbot – Northern Rockies Natural History Guide |access-date=2012-05-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621054513/http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c=fish&m=desc&id=6 |archive-date=2010-06-21 }}</ref> Spawning season typically occurs between December and March, often under ice at extremely low temperatures ranging between 1 and 4&nbsp;°C. During a relatively short season lasting from two to three weeks, burbot spawn multiple times, but not every year.<ref name="Idaho" />
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.<ref name="NHGuide" />
Depending on body size, female burbot fecundity ranges from 63,000 to 3,478,000 eggs for each clutch.<ref name="Idaho" /> 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 {{convert|1|mm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter and have an optimal incubation range between {{convert|1|and|7|C|F}}.<ref name="Idaho" />
Newly hatched burbot larvae are [[pelagic]], passively drifting in the open water. Habitats near {{convert|4|°C|°F|abbr=on}} are optimal for burbot and they prefer water temperatures of {{convert|12|°C|°F|abbr=on}} and lower.<ref name="NHGuide" /> By night, juveniles are active, taking shelter during the day under rocks and other debris. Growing rapidly in their first year, burbot reach between {{convert|11|and|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length by late fall.<ref name="Idaho" /> During their second year of life, burbot on average grow another {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Tandf">{{cite journal|doi=10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<667:AGRAFO>2.0.CO;2 | volume=101 | issue=4 | title=Age, Growth, Reproduction, and Food of the Burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), in Southwestern Lake Superior | journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society | pages=667–674 | last1 = Bailey | first1 = Merryll M.| year=1972 | bibcode=1972TrAFS.101..667B }}</ref>
Burbot transition from pelagic habitats to benthic environments as they reach adulthood, around five years old. Average length of burbot by maturity is about {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=on}}, with slight sexual dimorphism.<ref name="Tandf" /> Maximum lengths range between {{convert|30|and|120|cm|in|abbr=on}}, and weights range from {{convert|1.0|to|12|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.
=== Diet and predators ===
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 {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}, burbot eat [[copepod]]s and [[cladoceran]]s, and above {{convert|1-2|cm|in|abbr=on}}, [[zooplankton]] and [[amphipod]]s. As adults, they are primarily [[piscivore]]s, preying on [[lamprey]], [[Freshwater whitefish|whitefish]], [[Thymallus|grayling]], young [[northern pike]], [[Catostomidae|suckers]], [[stickleback]], [[trout]], and [[perch]].<ref name="Idaho" /> At times, burbot also eat [[insect]]s and other [[macroinvertebrates]], 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 ==
[[File:British fresh water fishes (Plate- Burbot) BHL6175102.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.14|An 1879 illustration by [[Alexander Francis Lydon]]]]
A book written in 1590 in [[Kingdom of England|England]] notes that burbot were so common that they were used to feed hogs.<ref>{{cite web|title=10 fishy facts about burbots|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4dp807nQZBq6sJSTSgjMY1y/10-fishy-facts-about-burbots|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 July 2015}}</ref>
The burbot is edible. In [[Finland]], its [[roe]] and 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 to [[American lobster]], leading to the burbot's nickname of "poor man's lobster".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Poor Man's Lobster of the Tanana Valley, Alaska Department of Fish and Game |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=137 |website=www.adfg.alaska.gov |access-date=4 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
In the 1920s, Minnesota druggist [[Theodore H. Rowell|Theodore "Ted" H. Rowell]] and his father, Joseph Rowell, a commercial fisherman on [[Lake of the Woods]], were using the burbot as feed for the foxes on Joe's [[Arctic fox|blue fox]] farm. 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 [[blue fox fur]]s they were seeing.<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Burbot Liver Products Company 1940.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.14|1940 image of the Burbot Liver Products Company]]  --> 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 became [[Rowell Laboratories, Inc.]]
==Angling==
[[File:Burbot (Batchawana B) 1.JPG|thumb|right|Batchawana Bay, Lake Superior]]
The [[IGFA]] recognizes the world-record burbot as caught on [[Lake Diefenbaker]], Saskatchewan, Canada, by Sean Konrad on 27 March 2010. The fish weighed {{cvt|11.4|kg|lboz}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Burbot|title=IGFA World Records|website=www.igfa.org|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>
The burbot is a tenacious [[predator]], 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 the [[Green River (Colorado River)|Green River]] at [[Flaming Gorge Reservoir]] in [[Utah]] have concerned wildlife biologists, who fear the burbot could decimate the sport-fish population in what is recognized as one of the world's top [[brown trout]] fisheries, because it often feeds on the eggs of other fish in the lake, such as [[sockeye salmon]]. The Utah Division of Fish and Game has instituted a "no release" "catch and kill" regulation for the burbot in Utah waterways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11968637&hl=6|title=Ugly, invasive fish spreads into Green River - KSL.com|website=ksl.com|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> However, the regulations have been found to be largely unenforceable.
The town of [[Walker, Minnesota]], holds an International [[Eelpout Festival]] every winter on [[Leech Lake]].<ref>"Annual International Eelpout Festival." Annual International Eelpout Festival. 26 April 2008. 29 May 2008 [http://eelpoutfestival.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313120531/http://www.eelpoutfestival.com/|date=13 March 2018}}</ref> The festival received national attention on 4 March 2011, when a correspondent from ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' did a segment on the event.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
==Conservation status==
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).<ref>Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 pp.</ref>
As the burbot lacks popularity in [[commercial 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.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1467-2979.2009.00340.x | volume=11 | title=Worldwide status of burbot and conservation measures | journal=Fish and Fisheries | pages=34–56 | last1 = Stapanian | first1 = Martin A| year=2010 | issue=1 | bibcode=2010AqFF...11...34S }}</ref>
The [[Kootenai Tribe of Idaho|Kootenai tribe of Idaho]] and their partners engaged conservation efforts to the burbot populations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tomky |first=Naomi |date=2022-12-26 |title=Conserving Burbot in Idaho |url=https://hookandbarrel.com/burbot-bubble-back-up-in-idaho/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Hook & Barrel Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Lota lota}}
* {{ITIS |id=164725 |taxon=Lota lota}}
* {{FishBase|genus=Lota|species=lota}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091125182627/http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=246 Experts to discuss reintroduction of Burbot to UK], Matt Clarke, Practical Fishkeeping magazine
* [https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/12/8/22163838/burbot-next-illinois-record-fish-comes-lake-michigan-waters Record Burbot Comes from Lake Michigan Waters] (10 December 2020) ''[[Chicago Sun Times]]''
{{Taxonbar|from=Q144700}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Lotidae]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States)]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of Europe]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of the United States]]
[[Category:Fish of the Great Lakes]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Holarctic fauna]]