Arctic Charr
Salvelinus alpinus
Also known as: Charr, Arctic Char, Hudson Bay Salmon, Sea Trout, Torgoch
About This Species
This cold-adapted fish lives in clear lakes and rivers across the far north, with some populations also running to sea and back like salmon. It tends to hold in deep, cold water for much of the year, coming into shallower gravel areas to spawn in autumn, which is the best time to see spawning colour and activity from a shore or boat. Polarised sunglasses and calm, clear conditions make it much easier to spot against pale lake-bed gravel.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Viewing from a bank or boat without entering spawning shallows is the simplest way to avoid disturbing redds and eggs.
- Fishing and handling rules vary considerably between countries and even between individual lakes, so anglers and observers should check local regulations before approaching spawning fish.
- Wading through spawning gravel or disturbing fish on redds should be avoided regardless of local rules, since it can crush eggs directly.
LCNaNSalmoniformesSalmonidae
Seasonal Activity
361,997 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- NaN
- Order
- Salmoniformes
- Family
- Salmonidae
Photo
(c) Christa Rohrbach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.