Skip to main content

Find out more about the current wildfire and wildfire-related concerns in the NWT.

Inconnu

My Happy SVG

The giant of the whitefish family

Average weight: 4 to 9 kg (9 to 20 lbs)

This large whitefish, called Coney or Sheefish in the NWT, resembles a herring. Their French name means “unknown”. Coney are common in the Mackenzie Delta, and migrate upstream to spawn in the Peel, Arctic Red and Mackenzie rivers and as far south as the Liard River. They are also found in Great Slave Lake.

Coney have been recorded weighing in at 31 kg (68 lbs). They sport a dark back, silvery sides and large scales. A fat, oil rich fish, it can be cooked like salmon, and is delicious smoked. Gold and silver spoons or a drifting rubber-tailed jig will attract these excellent eating fish.