Distribution

Although it is normally a freshwater fish, it has been known to find its way into brackish (salt) waters in the eastern and Gulf states. In Canada it occurs only in Nova Scotia, western New Brunswick, and the Eastern townships of Quebec, south of the St. Lawrence River. It was introduced in Nova Scotia and can be found in Digby and Yarmouth counties and as far east as Hants and Colchester counties.

The chain pickerel has the following characteristics:

• a long, narrow body;

• the fish gets its name from the chain-like pattern on its sides;

• the adults are coloured bright green, through olive-green to nearly brown on the back and upper sides; its sides are prominently marked by yellow-green to yellow areas broken by dark, interconnecting markings resembling links of a chain;

• the young are bright green through brown to almost black on the back, with a pronounced golden mid-dorsal stripe; the upper sides are bright green to almost black; the chain markings do not develop until the fish is about 6 to 8 inches in length;

• the average length is 15 to 20 inches (38.1 to 50.8 cm);

• its head is long, flat, and naked on top and somewhat concave between the eyes, which are high on the head and moderately large; the pupil of the eye is yellow and its mouth is large with small hook-like teeth set in the roof of its mouth and long canines at the sides;

• it has a long snout which is 44 to 48 per cent of its head length;

• the lower jaw is slightly longer than the snout;

• it has one dorsal (back) fin; the caudal or tail fin is long and deeply forked; pelvic fins are present;

• the lateral line is complete.

The largest chain pickerel caught was 29.5 inches long and weighed nine pounds. It was taken near Homerville, Georgia, U.S.A. The record Canadian chain pickerel was caught in Nova Scotia in 1989. It weighted 5.38 lb.

These fish are able to tolerate large changes in water. For example, they can live in water with salinities as high as 15 ppt (parts per thousand) and in water as acid as pH 3.8.

Natural History

Until 1973, there was almost no published information on the Canadian populations of chain pickerel.

Although the pickerel is mainly a spring spawner, in the U.S. some fish spawn in the fall. In the spring, shortly after the ice melts, adults enter the spawning areas which are flooded areas of streams, as well as lakes and ponds. Spawning takes place in areas 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 m) deep when the water temperatures reach 8 to 11øC (47 to 52øF) in April or May. Spawning generally lasts no longer than 7 to 10 days. The pickerel does not build a nest. During spawning, a single female and one or two males swim slowly around over the flooded vegetation. Periodically throughout the day, they roll inward and sharply flex their bodies so that the eggs and milt are shed at the same time. Through a violent lash of the tails, the fertilized eggs are spread over the bottom.

The eggs are 2 mm in diameter and light yellow in colour. Like eggs of some other fish, these eggs are slightly sticky, so that they will fasten to vegetation. The number of eggs laid by one female in the U.S. was estimated to be 6,000-8,000. No care is given to the eggs, which hatch in 6 to 12 days depending on the temperature.

The newly hatched young are 4.2 to 7.0 mm in length. They sink to the bottom when they hatch, where they attach themselves to vegetation by a sticky gland on the tip of their snout. The young live on the egg yolk for about a week. Growth is very fast in the first year. In crowded situations, considerable cannibalism may take place. Females grow faster, mature sooner, live longer, and grow to be larger than males.

Sexual maturity is reached earlier in the south. In the north, most pickerel mature in the third or fourth year. The average life span is 3 or 4 years with a maximum at 8 or 9 years, depending on conditions and growth rate. The chain pickerel is a solitary fish, establishing territories in the summer and hiding motionless in the vegetation most of the time. Its primary habitats are sluggish streams and heavily vegetated lakes and ponds, often not much deeper than 10 feet (with summer temperatures 21 to 30øC). In winter they move into deeper water, staying active and taking food under the ice.

The pickerel is a born hunter with Physical Characteristics that allow it to swim quickly. It is equipped with a set of teeth for quickly grabbing prey. They are primarily fish eaters but will also take amphibians, snakes, small birds, and small rodents.

The young fish have a number of predators, including basses, grebes, frogs, loons, yellow perch, mergansers, herons, kingfishers, and ospreys.

Published With Funding from the Canada-Nova Scotia Cooperation Agreement on Economic Diversification, Resource Competitiveness Program.