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| TAXONOMY Phylum: Chordata
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ECOLOGICAL DATA Distribution: widespread in nearshore, most abundant in Georgia Strait, Rivers and Smith Inlets, and in the Skeena estuary. Habitat: adults utilize nearshore areas as well as open ocean; spawn on pea-sized gravel on protected beaches throughout the year but is most concentrated in summer or winter; often spawning habitat exists where freshwater seepage occurs at the foot of bluffs or where trees provide shade; eggs are adhesive and remain in gravel at depths of several cm for about 2 weeks for summer spawners or up to 3 months for winter spawners; planktonic larvae dispersed by currents; larvae and juveniles of some stocks rear in estuaries at least until 50-100 mm in length. Tidal elevation: spawn over pea-sized gravel in the upper one half of the intertidal zone on protected beaches, and lower in the intertidal on exposed beaches with considerable wave action; spawning occurs in water depths of less than 0.5 m just before high tide and during high slack period. Food: larvae feed on planktonic organisms; adults prey on crustaceans, (e.g. copepods, amphipods euphausids), combjellies and larval fishes. Predators: gulls and birds eat eggs; staghorn sculpin, starry flounder, shiner perch and chinook salmon prey on juveniles and adults. |
GROWTH RATE Sexually mature at 1 yr of age; 5 mm at emergence; may reach 210 mm at 5 yr but most individuals are under 3 yr and range from 120-180 mm. FISHERY Very small commercial fishery but intensive sport fishery; total 1986 smelt commercial catch was 1 t valued at $3,000. REFERENCES Hart, J.L. 1973. Pacific fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 180: 139-140. Hart, J.L., and J.L. McHugh. 1944. The smelts (Osmeridae) of British Columbia. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 64: 27 p. Levy, D.A. 1985. Biology and management of surf smelt in Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, B.C. Univ. B.C. Westwater Res. Cen. Tech. Rep. 28: 48 p. Middaugh, D.P., M.J.Hemmer, and D.E. Penttila. 1987. Embryo ecology of the Pacific surf smelt, Hypomesus pretiosus (Pices: Osmeridae) Pac. Sci. 41: 44-53. Penttila, D. 1978. Studies of the surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) in Puget Sound. Wash. Dep. Fish. Tech. Rep. 42: 47 p.
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