Burbot
Habitat and Diet:
The Burbot looks like a cross between a catfish and an eel. They are found in deep, dark lakes and slow-moving rivers, where they shelter among roots, trees, rocks, and dense vegetation.
Burbot eat a wide variety of food. As adults, they prey on lamprey, whitefish, young northern pike, suckers, stickleback, trout, and perch. At times, burbot will also eat insects and have been known to eat frogs, snakes, and birds.
Relationship to humans:
Burbot are difficult to study because they live so deepl in the water and they reproduce under the ice. They are very fierce hunters, and have been known to attack fish that are the same size as themselves. This has given cause for concern in some parts of the country about their effect on other species of game fish, such as trout.
Although strange in appearance to many people, the meat of the burbot is highly sought. in Finland, their eggs are used as caviar, and the oil from their very large livers was an important source of vitamin A and D during the Great Depression.
Fun / Unusual fact:
Burbot is sometimes referred to as the " poor man ' s lobster " because when cooked, their meat tastes similar to lobster.