Geographical distribution
Baltic, upper Volga and White Sea basins; European stockings. Extirpated from the lower Rhine according to FishBase.
- Documented presence : Baltic basin
- Documented presence : Upper Volga basin
- Historical presence : Lower Rhine
Documented areas, not an exhaustive list. Presence in a region does not imply presence in every water body or permission to fish.
Distribution sources
- FishBase — Coregonus albula · accessed on
- Commission européenne — Coregonus albula, dénomination française · accessed on
Identification
The lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw; the small mouth is toothless and an adipose fin is present. Luke contrasts these features with whitefish with a projecting upper jaw, toothed smelt and bleak without an adipose fin.
Habitat
Lakes and some low-salinity Baltic waters.
Diet
Planktonic crustaceans in adults.
Behaviour
Adults form pelagic shoals.
Indicative biological size
Commonly 20 cm total length.
Fishing context and precautions
England: official sources name vendace Coregonus albula and prohibit intentionally taking, injuring or killing it, subject to legal exceptions. Do not target it or keep a capture for a photograph. This framework does not become a fishing ban for all continental Coregonus albula.
A distinctive feature
Some Baltic populations are migratory.
Sources and review
Each reference includes its access date. Overall editorial review: . Local conditions and regulations may change.
- FishBase — Coregonus albula · accessed on
- Commission européenne — Coregonus albula, dénomination française · accessed on
- FishBase — Common names of Coregonus albula · accessed on
- Luke — Muikku, Coregonus albula, caractères distinctifs · accessed on
- Lehtonen et al. / Luke et SLU (2023) — The ecology and fishery of the vendace in the Baltic Sea, p. 1468–1469 · accessed on
- Natural England — Fish: advice for making planning decisions, mise à jour du 7 avril 2025, Angleterre · accessed on
- JNCC — England information for S2492, Vendace (Coregonus albula), rapport2019 couvrant2013–2018, p.7–8 et12–15 · accessed on
- Environment Agency — UK’s rarest freshwater fish caught on film for the first time,27janvier2017 · accessed on
- UK Legislation — Wildlife and Countryside Act1981, Schedule5, version XML consolidée effectivement lue · accessed on
- UK Legislation — Wildlife and Countryside Act1981, section9, version XML consolidée, distinguer Angleterre/Pays de Galles et Écosse · accessed on
- WWF Allemagne / Florian Hoffmann — précautions physiques générales, mai2024 p.6, sans transfert du droit allemand · accessed on