Uncommon Fish (Lota lota) Found In Koyuk River

Observation: The burbot (Lota lota) is not a common fish in our river. This is the second one found in two years. The first burbot found in August 2015 was weak and the second one in July 2016 was found dead.

School of Fisheries of and Ocean Sciences Consult: (SFOS), Trent Sutton, Professor of Fisheries Biology writes, "That is certainly a burbot. I have had two burbot projects over the past couple of years, one in Copper and Tanana Lakes down in the Copper River drainage and a more recent one in the Gulkana/Copper rivers (Copper River drainage) and Chena/Tanana/Yukon rivers (Yukon River drainage). The Yukon River sampling took place much further upstream for your site. Both projects are in their final stages of analysis and I am hopeful that we will be able to share our study results in the coming months once we have completed final reports. With that said, most of the burbot movement studies have taken place in the Yukon River several decades ago, so there is a need for more research. Certainly the lower Yukon River as well as the Kuskokwim River would provide could locations for any new burbot research. I also have a new project starting in the Prudhoe Bay region and there have been recent reports of burbot being caught up there. I suspect that we will continue to see changes in species distributions as the climate continues to change." Fisheries Division, University of Alaska Fairbanks

LEO says: Burbot (Lota lota) are distributed in fresh waters throughout North America, Europe and Asia with their range extending southward to about 40 degrees north latitude. They occupy most large clear and glacial rivers and many lakes throughout Alaska. Burbot are known by a number of different names including lawyer, loche, eelpout, methy, lush, lingcod, and mud shark. Burbot Management and Research, Source: Alaska Department of Fish & Game (M. Tcheripanoff)

Resources:

• Department of Health and Social Services Bulletin: Pike and Burbot (Lush) in Select Alaska Rivers: Mercury Exposure and Consumption Recommendations - Mercury is an important contaminant of concern due to its neurotoxic effects on humans, especially developing fetuses and young children. Relationship between Northern Pike Consumption and Hair Mercury Levels in Selected Rural Alaska Communities, 2007–2010. Valerie J. Davidson, Commissioner, State of Alaska Epidemiology

• Native Range: Throughout Canada, Alaska, and northern United States (south to Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri, Wyoming, and Oregon); also in northern Eurasia (Page and Burr 1991). However, Lee et al. (1980) do not depict any collections from the Pacific Northwest. USGS, NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species