Fish & Water - Sounds Wild
Bering Cisco

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Bering Cisco

An unusual whitefish is swimming up the Yukon River. It's a Bering Cisco, a type of whitefish that's anadromous, like salmon. A Bering Cisco spends part of its life in freshwater and part in saltwater. They are an important subsistence fish for people in coastal and river communities along the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. Bering Cisco are found as far south as the Susitna River, and ranges north along the west coast of Alaska in drainages that flow into the Bering Sea.

Adult Bering cisco, about 18 inches long and ranging from 4 to 12 years old, spawn in the fall. Some undertake extreme spawning migrations, traveling more than 500 miles up the Kuskokwim River and more than 1,200 miles up the Yukon River. A big female Bering cisco may release up to 34,000 eggs, broadcasting her eggs over gravel beds in turbid and fast flowing water. The eggs hatch in the spring and the young move downstream to feed and grow in brackish estuaries and near shore coastal waters. They're tolerant of salt water but Bering cisco cannot survive cold sea water under ice and retreat to estuaries and river mouths in winter where water is not as cold. Like salmon, adult Bering cisco don't feed during spawning migrations, but unlike salmon, Bering cisco do not always die after spawning.