The
goldeye,
Hiodon alosoides, is a species of fish in the
mooneyeThe mooneyes are a family, the Hiodontidae, of primitive ray-finned fish comprising two living and three extinct species in the genus Hiodon. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that physically resemble shads...
family (Hiodontidae). It occurs from as far down the Mackenzie River as Aklavik in the north to Mississippi in the south, and from Alberta in the west to Ohio south of the Great Lakes, with an isolated population south of
James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
. It is notable for a conspicuous golden
irisThe iris is a membrane in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil and the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel...
in the eyes. It prefers turbid slower-moving waters of lakes and rivers, where it feeds on
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s,
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s,
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
,
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s,
shrewA shrew or shrew mouse or true shrew is a small mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha.Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent and not closely related to rodents. Shrew feet have five toes; rodent feet have four...
s, and
miceA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse and the deer mouse also sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common...
.
The
goldeye,
Hiodon alosoides, is a species of fish in the
mooneyeThe mooneyes are a family, the Hiodontidae, of primitive ray-finned fish comprising two living and three extinct species in the genus Hiodon. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that physically resemble shads...
family (Hiodontidae). It occurs from as far down the Mackenzie River as Aklavik in the north to Mississippi in the south, and from Alberta in the west to Ohio south of the Great Lakes, with an isolated population south of
James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
. It is notable for a conspicuous golden
irisThe iris is a membrane in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil and the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel...
in the eyes. It prefers turbid slower-moving waters of lakes and rivers, where it feeds on
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s,
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s,
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
,
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s,
shrewA shrew or shrew mouse or true shrew is a small mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha.Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent and not closely related to rodents. Shrew feet have five toes; rodent feet have four...
s, and
miceA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse and the deer mouse also sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common...
. The fish averages less than 1 lb (450 g) or 12 in (30 cm) in length, but can be found up to 2 lbs (900 g) or 16 in (41 cm) in some lakes. It has been reported up to 52 cm in length.
The scientific name means
shadThe shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and in the...
-like (
alosoides) toothed hyoid (
Hiodon, or mooneye family). It is also called Winnipeg goldeye, western goldeye, yellow herring, toothed herring, shad mooneye, la Queche, weepicheesis, or
laquaiche aux yeux d’or in French.
The goldeye is considered a good fly-fishing fish, but not popular with most anglers because of its small size.
Goldeye was reported by fishermen as early as 1876, but its fresh flesh is soft and unappealing, so it was only taken randomly in gillnets and (in the past) sold for dogfood.They are now sought after by many consumers as a smoked fish. Many commercial fishermen sell them smoked after being prosessed in a brine made of spices, salt, brown sugar, and other secret ingredients. They are smoke in oak wood, apple wood, and other woods. Each producer has their own ways of smoking. The goldeye has a soft meat but can also be soaked in a salt brine for 24 hours and then poached, firming up the flesh.
Its commercial viability was realized by Robert Firth, who immigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba from Hull, England in 1886. Firth developed the now-standard method of hot-smoking it whole. The bright red or orange colour of the smoked fish resulted from using only
willowWillows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
smoke, but today is achieved through
anilineAniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C
6H
7N. It is the simplest and one of the most important aromatic amines, being used as a precursor to more complex chemicals. Its main application is in the manufacture of polyurethane...
dye. It became a fashionable gourmet dish after 1911, with
Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and the
Prince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
counted amongst its fans. In 1926–29 the annual catch exceeded a million pounds, but stocks declined from 1931 and little was fished from lake Winnipeg after 1938. A small amount of the harvest is shipped to the United States, but most is consumed in Canada. Although
Lake WinnipegLake Winnipeg is a very large lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, about north of the city of Winnipeg. It is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and it is part of the most undeveloped and pristine large watershed of southern Canada.It is the...
was once the main commercial source, it now comes from elsewhere, especially in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the culinary name
Winnipeg goldeye has come to be associated with the city where it is processed.
The fish is the namesake of Winnipeg's minor league baseball team, the
Winnipeg GoldeyesThe Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. The Goldeyes are a member of the Northern League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
.