Forty-three species of fish have been recorded in the lakes and streams of Nova Scotia. Only one apecies, the Sea Lamprey, is in the jawless fish (Class Agnatha); the rest are bony fish (Osteichtyes). Seventeen purely native freshwater species have entered Nova Scotia during the 13,000 years since the retreat of the last ice sheet. The Atlantic Whitefish (Acadian Whitefish) is listed by COSEWIC as Endangered; the world's only population lives in the Petite Riviere watershed in Lunenburg County.

The fish fauna of the province's lakes and streams is impoverished compared to the number of species found further west, mainly because the province is almost an island and colonization by freshwater fish is difficult. It is also heavily influenced by the saltwater environment which surrounds Nova Scotia. Included in this section is a comprehensive table providing information on the origin and breeding migrations of freshwater fish.

This Document Includes:

Distribution of Species
Introduced Species
Fish Assemblages
Water Quality Factors
Habitat Factors
Moving-Water Environments
Still-Water Environments
Migratory Species
Special Features
Cultural Factors

Download PDF File (50k, 5 pages, 1 table)

Additional Keywords:
Brook Trout, Lake Whitefish, Atlantic Whitefish, Cono Salmon, Atlantic Salmon, catadromous, anadromous, habitat loss, lotic, lentic, oligotrophic, entrophic, Rainbow Trout, acidity

Associated Topics

T3.2 Ancient Drainage Patterns
T4.3 Post-glacial Colonization by Animals
T6.2 Oceanic Enrironments
T6.4 Estuaries
T8.1 Freshwater Hydrology
T8.2 Freshwater Environments
T11.14 Marine Fishes
T11.16 Land and Freshwater Invertebrates
T12.11 Animals and Resources

Associated Habitats

H2.5 Tidal Marsh
H3 Freshwater
H4 Freshwater Wetlands