Burbot

The NWT’s freshwater cod

Average Weight: 4.5 kg (10 lbs)

Burbot, called Loche, Mariah or Lingcod in the Northwest Territories, are plentiful and widespread in the Mackenzie area. They are voracious feeders, feeding mainly at night. Masters of camouflage, they range in colour from yellow to almost black. Burbot are unmistakable with their oval tail and a barbell, like a whisker, under the chin.

Burbot can reach 1.2 metres (4 feet) in length and a weight of 34 kg (75 lbs). They are a good eating fish with firm creamy white flesh, active in early winter at the mouths of small steams in the Mackenzie Delta. They are often taken on a jig though the ice in mid winter.