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Arctic Char
 Salvelinus alpinus
Status
Native
to both Newfoundland and Labrador.
Habitat
May be both anadromous
(spending their lives in the sea and entering rivers to spawn) or landlocked. On the Island of Newfoundland,
they may be found in most
deep lakes. They are very slow growing, with the largest char occurring
in Northern Labrador.
Range
Found
primarily in Canada’s territories and Atlantic Provinces, with the most
northern distribution of any North American freshwater fish.
Food
Anadromous
char may migrate several miles to the sea to feed during the summer, but
they do not range far from their home rivers, unlike salmon, which may
migrate hundreds of miles. Young char feed on bottom invertebrates,
while older and larger char feed on other fish, like landlocked smelt.
Appearance
A char’s
colour is highly variable, but generally green to brown above and
lighter below, with pink to red spots on the sides; landlocked char are
silver overall.
Breeding Biology
Females form
spawning redds (gravel dig outs) in shallow water (1.0-4.5 m depth) from
October to December, although this will vary according to latitude and
size. Males may fertilize eggs from more than one female. Preferred
spawning temperature is approximately 4.0oC.
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