Features: The Longjaw Cisco (Coregonus alpenae) was a deep water cisco or chub which was usually caught at depths of 100 metres or more. It was silver coloured and grew to about 30 centimeters long. The systematics of the ciscoes is complicated and scientists now generally believe that the Longjaw cisco was not a separate species but may have been a distinctive population of large-bodied individuals of Coregonus zenithicus, also known as Shortjaw Cisco. Listing was, therefore, deactivated in May 2002.

The deepwater cisco fishery (also called the chub fishery) caught Longjaw Ciscoes and prepared them as smoked fish (sold as "smoked herring"). The commercial catch of Longjaw Ciscoes peaked around the 1930s when about one-third of the catch of ciscoes was this species.

Status: Downlisted

Range: The Longjaw Cisco was known from Lakes Huron and Michigan, and may have been present in Lake Erie. No individuals have been reported in commercial fish catches since 1967, and in Ontario the last individual was recorded from Georgian Bay in 1975. Range Maps

Threats: The extinction of Longjaw Ciscoes was a direct result of overfishing. Other factors such as the pollution of the Great Lakes and the disruption of food chains after the introduction of sea lamprey may have contributed to the ultimate disappearance of the Ontario population.

Protection: In the United States, Longjaw Cisco was listed in the Endangered Species Act.

Text Sources: Campbell 1985

Last Modified Date: March 2006