Burbot

Lore & Background

The burbot possesses a serpentine body that evokes a blend of catfish and eel, with a single whisker-like barbel on its chin as its most distinctive feature. Its head is flattened, and each nostril forms a small tube. The mouth is wide and lined with many small teeth. Two soft dorsal fins are present: the first is short and low, while the second is much longer. The anal fin is low and nearly as long as the second dorsal fin. The caudal fin is rounded, the pectoral fins fan-shaped, and the pelvic fins are narrow with an elongated second ray. These relatively small fins indicate a benthic lifestyle with limited swimming endurance, making the fish unable to withstand strong currents. Though appearing scaleless, the burbot is covered in minute, nearly microscopic scales. It is slow-growing and long-lived; in Alaska, reaching 18 inches typically takes five to seven years, and individuals often exceed 20 years of age. Burbot inhabit large, cold rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, primarily in freshwater but also tolerating brackish environments for spawning. They live under ice for part of the year and require frigid temperatures to breed. During summer, they stay in colder water below the thermocline, and in Lake Superior they can be found at depths exceeding 300 meters. As benthic fish, they tolerate mud, sand, rubble, boulder, silt, and gravel substrates, constructing burrows for daytime shelter. They are crepuscular hunters. In winter, they migrate to near-shore reefs and shoals with sand or gravel to spawn. Unlike most freshwater fish, spawning occurs mid to late winter, often under ice at temperatures between 1 and 5 °C. They are broadcast spawners, releasing eggs and sperm into open water where multiple males gather around one or two females in a writhing “spawning ball.” Fertilized eggs drift and settle into substrate cracks. Fecundity ranges from 63,000 to over 3.4 million eggs per clutch, depending on body size. Eggs are round with a large oil globule, about 1 mm in diameter. Larvae are pelagic, drifting passively, and juveniles are active at night, hiding under rocks by day.

Reader's Guide

The burbot holds significance as the only freshwater member of the cod order Gadiformes, occupying a unique ecological niche in cold northern waters. Its circumpolar distribution and ability to thrive under ice make it a key species in subarctic and boreal aquatic ecosystems. The burbot's diet, which includes invasive species like the round goby in Lake Erie, demonstrates its role in controlling non-native populations. In Finland, its roe and liver are regarded as delicacies, and its meat, when cooked, tastes similar to American lobster, earning it the nickname 'poor man's lobster.' Genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making the single taxon somewhat misleading.

Did You Know?

• The name burbot comes from the Latin word barba, meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker.
• Burbot are the only freshwater species of the order Gadiformes.
• When cooked, burbot meat tastes very similar to American lobster, leading to its nickname 'poor man's lobster.'