Houting (coregonus Oxyrinchus) And Smelt (osmerus Eperlanus)
The houting is a sea fish which lives close to the shores of the eastern North Sea and in the south Baltic. Its body is up to 50 cm long, the snout is pointed and long and the mouth is in the inferior position. The back is blue-green or grey-blue, whilst the sides and the belly arc white and the fins a light grey. When about to spawn it migrates into freshwater, where it breeds in November and December on the sandy and gravelly beds of shallow waters. It feeds mainly on plankton and small animals on the river bed. In the southern North Sea the houting is on the verge of extinction. Rivers such as the Rhine, in which it formerly bred, have become so polluted that no fish can survive.
In contrast, the smelt migrates to the upper reaches of rivers to spawn, although it 'lives generally close to the European coastline from Scandinavia to the English Channel. It is slender with a transparent body, large eyes and a mouth with large teeth. It grows to a maximum length of 30 cm. Its lateral line terminates behind the pectoral fins. The back is green-grey, the sides are a silvery colour and the belly is white. It spawns in March and April in the river. The eggs at first rest on the gravel, but later the outer membrane bursts and the eggs float freely in the river. The larval stage of the smelt is fairly long; only after it has reached a length of 4 to 5 cm, does it develop scales and swim into the sea. Here it lives on plankton, crustaceans and small fish. In certain areas of its habitat it is fished for commercially; its flesh smells of cucumbers.
Coregonus oxyrinchus
Maximum size and weight:
50 cm, 1.5 kg. Identifying characteristics: Snout long and pointed, mouth in infbrior position. Back blue-green or grey-blue, belly and sides white, fins greyish.
Osmerus eperlanus
Maximum size and weight:
30 cm, 0.5 kg. Identifying characteristics: Transparent body, large toothed mouth and large eyes. Lateral line terminates behind pectoral fins. Back green-grey, sides and belly silvery white.
