name: Rainbow Smelt

flavor_db_name_variants: rainbow smelt

source: foodb

status: draft

food_db_id: Rainbow smelt

id: 443

name_scientific: Osmerus mordax

description: The rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, is a species of fish of the family Osmeridae. Its distribution is circumpolar, and it has been introduced to the Great Lakes, and from there has made its way to various other places. Walleye, trout, and other larger fish prey on these smelt. The rainbow smelt prefer juvenile ciscoes, zooplankton, and other small organisms. They are anadromous spring spawners and prefer clean streams with light flow and light siltation. The rainbow smelt face several barriers. They are weak swimmers and cannot overcome most fish ladders. This prevents them from making it past the dams to the headwater streams where they spawn. The rise in erosion and dams help to decimate the smelt population in the 1980s. There are currently plans to try to reduce damming and to help control erosion. With current efforts to reduce the human impact on this and many other affected species the population is back on the rise.

itis_id: 162041

wikipedia_id: Rainbow smelt

picture_file_name: 453.jpg

picture_content_type: image/jpeg

picture_file_size: 74647

picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:37:03.000Z

legacy_id: 480

food_group: Aquatic foods

food_subgroup: Fishes

food_type: Type 1

created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:42.000Z

updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:25.000Z

creator_id: null

updater_id: null

export_to_afcdb: false

category: specific

ncbi_taxonomy_id: 8014

export_to_foodb: true

public_id: FOOD00443