THE RAINBOW SMEJ 
     
    
   
   
    
     by Geoff Hogan, Springvale . 
     
    
   
   
    
     Winter is typically the time when our attention is drawn towards clusters of . 
     
     little shacks that appear to spring up overnight on the ice of many rivers across 
     
     Prince Edward Island. The people who use these shacks are after one species of 
     
     fish, the Atlantic or Rainbow Smelt, Osmerus mordax, an abundant schooling species 
     
     reaching 12 inches in length. 'Smelting‘ 15 a popular winter pasttime and active 
     
     livelihood for many Islanders, and soon the little fish are available fresh daily 
     
     in many local food stores. But what are some of the facts concerning the life 
     
     history of the Rainbow Smelt? 
     
    

    
     Smelts are circumpolar fishes restricted to the northern hemisphere and, of the 
     
     ten known species, only the Rainbow Smelt is common around P.E.I. Originally they 
     
     occurred along the Atlantic coastal region from New Jersey to Labrador but during 
     
     the early 1900's they were introduced into the Great Lakes system via Lake Michigan. 
     
     The species is generally referred to as anadromous, meaning that part of the life 
     
     cycle is spent in fresh water and part in marine waters. In fact, "living in the 
     
     sea and entering fresh water to spawn seems to have been the usual and most 
     
     successful way of life for smelt..." (Scott and Crossman 1973). Some populations 
     
     of smelt however, for example in Newfoundland, 
     
     Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and elsewhere, have 
     
     become landlocked in inland lakes where there 
     
     is no easy access to the sea and therefore 
     
     complete their entire life cycles in fresh 
     
     water. Quite often these landlocked smelts 
     
     tend to be rather small compared to their 
     
     sea-going relatives. 
     
    

    
     Smelts spend the summer months 
     
     in the inshore coastal waters 
     
     feeding upon a variety of in- 
     
     vertebrates, including crus- 
     
     taceans and aquatic worms and 
     
     occasionally small fish. By 
     
     late September and October 
     
     large schools of smelts 
     
     begin to move into the 
     
     'estuaries and large rivers 
     
     where they congregate for 
     
     the winter months. Follow- 
     
     ing the breakup of ice 
     
     during April and May, the 
     
     smelt, driven by instinct, 
     
     begin their ascent into 
     
     the upper freshwater 
     
     reaches of the river 
     
     and its tributaries 
     
     to the spawning 
     
     grounds. Thousands 
     
     of the silvery— I 
     
     green fish make // 
     
     the journey, 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
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