Everything about the Burbot totally explained
The
burbot (
Lota lota), often referred to as a "junkfish", is a
freshwater fish related to the
cods. It is also known as the
lawyer, and
eelpout, and closely related to the
ling and the
cusk. It is most common in
streams and
lakes of
North America and
Europe above 40°N
latitude. They are fairly common in
Lake Erie but are also found in the other
Great Lakes
In Britain, the burbot is possibly an extinct fish as it's believed that there have been no documented catches of the species since the 1970s
(External Link
). If the burbot does still survive in the UK, the counties of Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire (particularly the
River Derwent or
River Ouse) seem to be the strongest candidates for areas in which the species might yet continue to survive
(External Link). There have been plans to re-introduce this freshwater member of the cod family back into British waters but these have yet to come to fruition.
In the 1920s, Minnesota druggist
Theodore H. Rowell and his father Joseph Rowell, a commercial fisherman on
Lake of the Woods, were using the burbot as feed for the foxes on Joe’s blue fox farm. They discovered that the burbot contained something that improved the quality of the fox’s furs; this was confirmed by the fur buyers who commented that these furs were superior to other furs they were seeing. Ted felt it was something in the burbot, so he extracted some oil and sent it away to be assayed. The result of the assay was that the liver of the burbot is 3-4 times more potent in vitamin D, and 4 – 10 times more potent in vitamin A than “good grades” of cod liver oil. The vitamin content varies in Burbot from lake to lake, where their diet may have some variation. Additionally, the burbot liver makes up approximately 10% of the fish's total body weight, and their liver is 6x larger than freshwater fish of comparable size. Ted also found in his research that the oil is lower in viscosity, and more rapidly digested and assimilated than most other fish liver oils. Ted went on to found the
Burbot Liver Products Company which later became
Rowell Laboratories, Inc. of
Baudette, Minnesota, and is today a subsidiary of
Solvay Pharmaceuticals of Brussels Belgium.
The town of
Walker, Minnesota holds an
International Eelpout Festival every winter on
Leech Lake. In
Finland, its roe is sold as
caviar. There is an annual spearfishing tournament held near Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. One of the highlights of the tournament is the fish-fry where the day's catch is served up deep-fried. It may be of interest to note that burbot meat when cooked tastes very similar to the American lobster (Homarus americanus). Hence, other times referred to as "poorman's lobster".
The genus and species name "lota" comes from "la lotte," the
old French word for "
codfish." The
Inuktitut word for burbot was used to name the extinct species
Tiktaalik.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Burbot'.
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