Nelma

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{other uses}} {{Speciesbox | name = ''Stenodus nelma'' | image = Nelma fish.JPG | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Freyhof, J. |author2=Kottelat, M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=''Stenodus nelma'' |article-number=e.T135545A4141935 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135545A4141935.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Stenodus nelma | authority = (Pallas, 1773)<ref name=IUCN/> | synonyms = * ''Salmo nelma'' Pallas, 1773 * ''Stenodus leucichthys nelma'' (Pallas, 1773) * ''Salmo mackenzii'' Richardson, 1823 * ''Stenodus leucichthys mackenzii'' (Richardson, 1823) * ''Stenodus mackenzii'' (Richardson, 1823) * ''Leucichthys nelma'' (Pallas, 1773) }}

'''''Stenodus nelma''''', known alternatively as the '''nelma''', '''sheefish''', '''siifish''', '''inconnu''' or '''connie''', is a commercial species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from the Kola Peninsula (White Sea basin) eastward across Siberia to the Anadyr River and also in the North American basins of the Yukon River and Mackenzie River.<ref name=HEFF>{{cite book|last=Kottelat|first= M.|last2= Freyhof|first2= J.|year=2007|title=Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes|isbn= 978-2-8399-0298-4}}</ref><ref name=IUCN/><ref>{{Cof genus|genus=Stenodus|access-date=15 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=FishBase>{{FishBase|genus=Stenodus|species=nelma|id=66490|month=February|year=2013}}</ref>

== Appearance and lifestyle == ''Stenodus nelma'' is an anadromous fish, up to {{convert|150|cm|in}} in length.<ref name=FishBase/> The fish has a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and a high and pointed dorsal fin. It is generally silver in color with a green, blue or brown back. The meat is white, flaky and somewhat oily. An adult fish weighs up to {{convert|27|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Alaska Department of Fish and Game">{{Cite web|title=Sheefish Species Profile|author=Alaska Department of Fish and Game|url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=sheefish.main|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.adfg.alaska.gov|language=en}}</ref>

The fish eat plankton for their first year of life and then become predators of smaller fish. They live in lakes and rivers and in the brackish water at the outlets of rivers into the ocean. They may migrate more than {{convert|1600|km|mi|-3}} to their upriver spawning grounds, but some populations spend their entire life in fresh water and do not migrate.<ref name="Alaska Department of Fish and Game"/>

==Systematics== ''Stenodus nelma'' has previously been considered a subspecies of ''Stenodus leucichthys'' (''S. leucichthys nelma''). The typical ''Stenodus leucichthys'' (beloribitsa) is a landlocked Eurasian species restricted to the Caspian Sea basin, and now extinct in the wild.<ref name="Belyaeva">{{cite web|first=E. S.|last=Belyaeva |publisher=caspianenvironment.org |url=http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Stenodus%20leucichthys%20leucichthys/main.htm|title=''Stenodus leucichthys leucichthys'' |url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703230630/http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Stenodus%20leucichthys%20leucichthys/main.htm|archive-date=2013-07-03}}</ref><ref name="IUCN leucichthys">{{Cite iucn |author1=Freyhof, J. |author2=Kottelat, M. | name-list-style = amp |title = ''Stenodus leucichthys'' | year= 2008 | article-number = e.T20745A9229071 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T20745A9229071.en }}</ref>

== Relationship with people == [[File:Inuit fishing for sheefish at Selawik NWR.jpg|thumb|250px| Iñupiat fishing for sheefish at Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska]]

Stenodus nelma is a historically important subsistence food for Native Alaskans in the Yukon and Mackenzie River basins.<ref name=Food>{{cite web | url= http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/ |title=Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of North America|website= Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE) |last1=Kuhnlein|first1= H.V. |year=2017 | publisher=McGill University|access-date= October 17, 2024}}</ref>

It is prized by sport fishers who sometimes refer to it as "Tarpon of the Tundra" due to its leaping and fighting abilities matching that of the tropical Tarpon.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fraley |first1=Kevin |last2=Fraley |first2=Heather |title=Tarpon of the Tundra|url=https://www.theflyfishjournal.com/issue_feature/tarpon-of-the-tundra/ |website=theflyfishjournal.com |publisher=The Fly Fishing Journal |access-date=6 September 2025}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130709234500/http://www.greatcanadianrivers.com/rivers/mack/species-home.html "Mackenzie River Ecosystem: A Dynamic Delta: Inconnu: The "Unknown" Fish"] GreatCanadianRivers.com * [http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/fish3696.htm ''Stenodus leucichthys nelma''] Illustration by N.N. Kondrakov. NOAA Photo Library. {{Whitefish}}

Category:Stenodus Category:Freshwater fish of the Arctic Category:Fish described in 1773 Category:Fish of Russia Category:Freshwater fish of Asia Category:Freshwater fish of the United States