| Synonyms | | | | Lucius vorax Rafinesque, 1810: 68. | | | Esox estor Lesueur, 1818: 413. | | | Esox lucius var. variegatus Fitzinger (ex Agassiz), 1832: 339. | | | Esox lucius var. baicalensis Dybowski, 1874: 392. | | | Esox lucius var. atrox Anikin, 1902: 109. | | | Esox lucius bergi Kganowsky, 1933: 4. | | | Esox lucius lucius natio wiliunensi Kirillov, 1962: 37. | | | Esox lucius aralensis Pinev, 1985: 18. |
|
| FAO Names | | En - Northern pike, Fr - Brochet du Nord, Sp - Lucio. |
| 3Alpha Code: FPI Taxonomic Code: 1240300101 |
| Diagnostic Features | | | Unmistakable on account of its body form. The dorsal and anal fins are opposite and close to the tail fin; the pelvic fins are abdominal in position. The head is broad, although the snout is pointed; a series of large teeth in the lower jaw, dense but smaller teeth in the roof of the mouth. Colour usually greeny-brown, flecked with lighter golden green to form curved lines and speckles on the back and sides. Yellowish ventrally. |
| Geographical Distribution | | | | Is one of the few species of freshwater fishes that occurs in both North America and Eurasia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, for example Australia, New Zealand, and North America. |
| Habitat and Biology | | | Occurs in clear vegetated lakes, quiet pools and backwaters of creeks and small to large rivers. Usually solitary. Highly territorial predator. Enter brackish water in the Baltic.After the yolk is absorbed, young feed on large zooplankton and immature aquatic insects for about 7-10 days; fish then becomes the major part of the diet. Adults occasionally feed on frogs, crayfish and other vertebrates.Eggs and young are preyed upon by fishes, larvae of aquatic insects, birds, and aquatic mammals.Adults are preyed upon bears, dogs, eagles, and osprey during the spawning run. |
| Size | | | Maximum 130 cm; up to 34 kg; The largest fish are females, males rarely growing heavier than 6.3 Kg. |
| Interest to Fisheries | | Global Capture production for
Esox lucius
(FAO Fishery Statistic) |  |   |
| Global Aquaculture production for
Esox lucius
(FAO Fishery Statistic) |  | | |
|
It is a valuable game fish. Excellent food fish; utilized fresh and frozen; eaten pan-fried, broiled and baked.This fish can be heavily infested with parasites, including the broad tapeworm which, if not killed by thorough cooking, can infect human; is used as an intermediate host by a cestode parasite which results to large losses in usable catches of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis in some areas; also suffers from a trematode which causes unsightly cyst on the skin. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 24 920 t. The countries with the largest catches were Finland (11 663 t) and Russian Federation (6 118 t).
|  Additional information on Introduced Species (DIAS) | | | Related Fishing Techniques |
| Local Names | | | Cree : Cinosa , Cinoseo , Cinusèw , Tchinouchao . |
| English : American pike , Common pike , Great lakes pike , Great northern pickerel , Great nothern pike , Jack , Jackfish , Northern pike , Pickerel , Pike , Snake , Wolf . |
| French : Brochet , Grand brochet . |
| German : Hecht , Heichit . |
|
Bibliography Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2003. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org Wheeler, A. - 1978 Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe. A guide to the identification of more than 350 species. Frederick Warne (Publishers) Ltd., London. 380 pp. |
|
EspañolFrançais
