Researchers at the University of Idaho Aquaculture Research Institute are shifting their goals when it comes to their work with burbot, and are exploring the feasibility of introducing the species – the only freshwater cod species in North America – to the commercial aquaculture industry.
In the early 2000s, the burbot population on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho and British Columbia had dwindled drastically due to habitat alteration and loss throughout the region. At its lowest in 2004, the burbot population on the river was just 50 fish, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG)…