Arctic Char

Names in dialect: salmerin, salmarin.

Arctic Char have a long, slim shape, very small scales, and a large head and mouth containing a large number of small teeth. Their back is a greenish grey or brown and their belly white; the back and flanks are speckled with white, yellow or pink spots. The dorsal and caudal fins are grey; pectoral, ventral and anal fins are yellow or orange, with white leading edges.
They live in the cold, oxygenated waters of Alpine lakes. They feed on zooplankton and macrozoobenthos; the adults also prey on fish, including minnows, stone loach and other smaller char. They grow very slowly with adults rarely exceeding 30 cm in length. In high-altitude lakes where there is less food, char do not reach 20 cm.
They spawn in October and November: the males become brightly coloured with their ventral parts taking on shades of red and orange. The eggs are laid in lakes on gravel bottoms; each female lays a few hundred eggs.
Arctic char have been famous for their delicious flavour since the time of the Council of Trent. The excellence of the char caught in Lake Molveno and Lake Tovel is mentioned in the chronicles written by local historians. The Arctic char population in Lake Tovel is still today one of the most important in terms of numbers. The numbers inhabiting Lake Molveno have to some extent been restored– after the lake was emptied for the hydroelectric power station – with fry being reintroduced from Lake Iseo, descendants from Molveno stock transferred to Iseo after the First World War by fishermen from Montisola.
The limited local distribution of this species and its sensitivity to changes in the environment make it necessary to introduce stricter measures to protect it. It seems to be particularly dangerous to introduce other salmonids which inevitably act as rivals in the biotopes colonised by chub, or chub originating from different areas which, by cross breeding with the local ones, may modify the genetics of the population. No repopulation should be permitted in lakes where Arctic char live. If permitted, fishing should be strictly limited according to natural fish production rates. The flesh of Arctic char is considered excellent and despite its limited numbers, this species is much sought after locally by fishermen.