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Deepwater Cisco

Deepwater Cisco

Once roaming the profound depths of Lakes Huron and Michigan, the Deepwater Cisco (Coregonus johannae) is now extinct — gone before most people knew it existed.

Never a recreational target, it was known to Great Lakes commercial fishermen simply as "chub" and harvested alongside other deepwater ciscoes.

Its disappearance, driven by overfishing, invasive sea lamprey, and alewife competition, represents one of the most complete ecological losses in the Great Lakes basin.

Scientific Name: Coregonus johannae

Also known as Chub

Physical Characteristics:
  • Narrow, elongate snout and a relatively long head set it apart from other ciscoes — the profile is more pointed than the typical cisco silhouette.
  • Silvery body with pink iridescence; pale blue-green on the back shading to silvery white on the belly.
  • Fins mostly clear and translucent; pelvic fins completely unmarked — a useful distinguishing detail among cisco species.
  • Fewer than 33 gill rakers and unpigmented jaws separate it from related ciscoes; typical size was around 30 cm (12 in) and 1 kg (2.2 lbs).

What to know

Habitat Distribution

  • Endemic to the Great Lakes basin — native only to Lakes Huron and Michigan, and now extinct across its entire former range.
  • Bottom-dwelling in the deepest offshore zones of large glacial lakes, living between 50 and 180 meters down — well below the reach of recreational fishing.
  • Depth records place it at 55–165 m in Lake Michigan and 29–183 m in Lake Huron, in permanently cold, oxygenated water below the seasonal thermocline.

Specific Spots

  • Held to the deepest offshore basins of its home lakes, where cold bottom water and soft substrate supported the invertebrate communities it depended on.
  • Depth range of 50–180 m put it in zones inaccessible to recreational gear — this was strictly commercial-fishing territory, worked with deep-set nets.

See it in the app

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