Arctic Char
Return To Search
Name and Code
Family
Salmonidae - trouts and salmons
Species
Salvelinus alpinus
Taxonomic Authority
(Linnaeus 1758)
Common Name(s)
Arctic Char
French Name
omble chevalier
Species Code
079
Family TSN
161931
Parent TSN
161999
Species TSN
162001
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (2016-05-10)
National Rank (NRank)
N5B, N5N, N5M (2017-12-27)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
SU (1997-10-02)
COSEWIC Status
none
SARO Status
none
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
none
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
native/introduced
General Abundance
limited distribution
Tolerance
intolerant
Economic Importance
aboriginal fishery
Length-Weight Regression Coefficents
Intercept (a)
-4.803
Slope (b)
3.125
Length Basis
FL
Habitat and Feeding
General Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine; estuarine
Environment
benthopelagic
Trophic Class
invertivore/carnivore
Thermal Regime
coldwater
Habitat Preference
estuaries, deep runs and pools of medium to large coldwater rivers and lakes; usually at depths <3 m; preferred water temperature 11.3°C
Reproduction
Reproductive Guild
Nonguarders: Brood hiders: Lithophils
Spawning Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Spawning Season
fall
Spawning Month(s)
September-October
Spawning Temperature (°C)
2-7
Fecundity
1,182-9,245
Nursery Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
38.1-63.5 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
0.6-3.0
Age at Maturity (yrs)
7-14
Maximum Length (cm)
101.6 TL
Maximum Weight (kg)
16
Lifespan (yrs)
16-24
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
none
Record Weight (kg)
7.2
Ontario Range Map
Arctic Char range
Ontario Distribution
Hudson Bay tributaries
Photographs
Arctic Char photograph
Arctic Char photograph
Notes
amphidromous life-strategy, although some remain in freshwater; spawning interval 2-3 years
Information Sources
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC.
Behnke, R.J. 2002. Trout and salmon of North America. The Free Press. New York, NY. viii + 359 pp.
Bernatchez, L. and M. Giroux. 2000. Les poissons d’eau douce du Québec et leur répartition dans l’Est du Canada. Broquet Inc. Saint-Constant, QC. 350 pp.
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp.
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp.
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p.
Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 pp.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p.
Desroches, J-F. and I. Picard. 2013. Poissons d’eau douce du Québec et des Maritimes. Éditions Michel Quintin. Waterloo, QC. 471 pp.
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023.
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Halliwell, D.B., R.W. Langdon, R.A. Daniels, J.P. Kurtenbach, and R.A. Jacobson. 1999. Classification of freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States for use in the development of indices of biological integrity. Pages 301-337 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023.
Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof. 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Cornol, Switzerland. xiii + 646 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp.
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp.
McAllister, D.E. and B.W. Coad. 1974. Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region/Poissons de la r?gion de la capitale du Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Misc. Spec. Publ. 24: 203 pp.
McPhail, J.D. and C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 173. Ottawa, ON. 381 pp.
Mecklenburg, C.W., T.A. Mecklenburg, and L.K. Thorsteinson. 2002. Fishes of Alaska. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxxvii + 1037 pp.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023).
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp.
Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p.
Scott, W.B. 1967. Freshwater fishes of eastern Canada, second edition. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xii + 137 pp.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp.
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott. 1988. Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xxx + 731 pp.
Scharpf, C. 2006. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part II: Catostomidae through Mugilidae. American Currents 32(4):1-39.
Stewart, K.W. and D.A. Watkinson. 2004. The freshwater fishes of Manitoba. University of Manitoba Press. Winnipeg, MB. xvii + 276 pp.
Werner, R.G. 2004. Freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States: a field guide. Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY. xiv + 335 pp.