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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: burbot
Synonyms and Other Names: ling, freshwater codfish, eelpout
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Scott and Crossman (1973); Becker (1983); Smith (1985); Page and Burr (1991).
Size: 84 cm.
Native Range:
Throughout Canada, Alaska, and northern United States (south to Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri, Wyoming, and Oregon). However, Lee et al. (1980) do not depict any collections from the Pacific Northwest. Also in northern Eurasia (Page and Burr 1991).
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Nonindigenous Occurrences: Whitworth (1996) refers to burbots as introduced in Connecticut and reported introductions as early as 1844. Goode (1884) reported the burbot from the Connecticut River; however, Webster (1942) did not list the species in the state. Collections made in recent years have been from only two drainages. He noted that the only viable population is in the Hollenbeck River of the Housatonic drainage. Lee et al. (1980 et seq.) showed collections both here and in the Connecticut River, which is presumably the second drainage to which Whitworth was referring. This species is also established in the Chesapeake Bay drainage, Maryland (Burr and Page 1986). Burbots have been stocked and are established in New Jersey; they were first listed for the state in 1920, although the date of initial introduction is not known (Fowler 1920, 1952; Stiles 1978). Burbots were also introduced into Ohio outside their native range, including Buckeye Lake, stocked during the period 1915 to 1930 with fish caught in Lake Erie, and at least one pay-fishing lake in Tuscarawas County, apparently stocked during the 1960s (Trautman 1981). Specimens were collected from several sites in Ohio during the 1960s, including the Little Miami River in Hamilton County, the Stillwater River in Miami County, and the Great Miami River; these fish may have been introduced into or possibly represent strays from the upper Mississippi River (Trautman 1981). Hocutt et al. (1986) reported this species as introduced into the Muskingum drainage in Ohio. Burr and Page (1986) reported it as possibly introduced into the Ohio River proper, the Little Miami, Licking, Great Miami, Kentucky, and Wabash drainages in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. Etnier and Starnes (1993) reported a single specimen from the Hatchie River in Tennessee. If one believes they are introduced into the Ohio drainage rather than native, then this may also be an introduction. Or it may be a waif from native populations in the upper Mississippi. They are established in the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah and Wyoming (Associated Press 2005). Although burbot are native to Wyoming, they have been illegally stocked in the Green River and are competing with native trout and could possible invade the Colorado River Basin, Big Sandy Basin, and through the Green River (Associated Press 2005).
Means of Introduction: Intentionally stocked for sport fishing.
Status: Established in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: Hocutt et al. (1986) reported this species as possibly introduced into the Susquehanna drainage. Goode (1884) reported a single collection from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Cooper (1983) and Smith (1985) mention relict populations in the upper Susquehanna in New York. The Pennsylvania record may be a native. It seems likely that the Ohio River and its tributaries represent native range rather than introductions.
Fowler, H. W. 1920. A list of the fishes of New Jersey. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 33:139-170.
Fowler, H. W. 1952. A list of the fishes of New Jersey, with off-shore species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia CIV:89-151.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980 et seq. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, NC.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Stiles, E. W. 1978. Vertebrates of New Jersey. Edmund W. Stiles, Somerset, NJ.
Trautman, M. B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH.
Whitworth, W. R. 1996. Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Bulletin 114.
Other Resources:
Distribution in Illinois - ILNHS
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 4/19/2006 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Lota lota. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=698> Revision Date: 4/19/2006
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