Meet the Tarpon of the North (pole) - the sheefish or inconnu (or coney, or Stenodus leucichthys)

We head *way* north to meet this large predatory whitefish found in Arctic and sub-arctic parts of North America and Siberia #25DaysofFishmas

The name “sheefish” comes from the Yup’ik + Iñupiaq peoples who call them “shees” - they’re also called inconnu (from the French "poisson inconnu" literally: “unknown fish”) because when European explorers saw it for the first time, they didn’t know what it was #25DaysofFishmas

The sheefish’s range includes the Arctic and sub-arctic regions of NW North America where they’re largely concentrated in rivers within two major river basins: the Yukon and Mackenzie. They're also found in North America's deepest lake (Great Slave Lake) #25DaysofFishmas

The sheefish/inconnu is the largest of all whitefishes (Coregoninae, which are relatives of salmon + trout). In some coastal areas, they grow to 42 in (1 m) long + weigh up to 60 lbs (27 kg), but those in Interior Alaska rarely exceed 25 lbs (11 kg) #25DaysofFishmas

Sheefish in coastal areas spend part of their lives at sea, before returning to freshwater streams to spawn - but, they don't have to! In inland lakes like the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, they remain in freshwater throughout their lives #25DaysofFishmas

On the move: sheefish are long-distance migrators when they're looking for food and spawning sites - all in all, sometimes moving >1,000 mi (1,600 km) in a single summer! #25DaysofFishmas

Sheefish are a valuable subsistence resource for rural communities, particularly as a source of fresh fish prior to the start of Pacific salmon runs. They’re traditionally eaten raw, dried (Iñupiaq: paniqtuq), frozen (quaq), or fermented (tipliaqtaaq) #25DaysofFishmas

Melting permafrost can release sediment into the rivers that sheefish call home - this may cause problems for the species in the future because that sediment fills in the spaces in between gravel where their eggs settle #25DaysofFishmas (: @Liebichthy) https://www.fws.gov/alaska/sites/default/files/2019-12/AK%20Fisheries%20Tech%20Report_2019_110.pdf