Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax)

Habitat	-Lives in coastal waters -Migrates upstream to freshwater streams in spring to spawn -Moves offshore in the warm months of summer -Some may live in freshwater troughout life
Reproduction	-Spawning takes place in spring in brooks and streams -A female deposits 7,000-60,000 eggs, depending on her size -incubation ranges anywhere from 8-63 days, depending on water temperature
Growth	-By November, the young smelts have an average lenght of 6.3 cm -At 2-3 years old, they range between 12.7-20.3 cm -Size attained varies depending on local conditions

Source: Scott W.B. and M.G. Scott. 1988. Atlantic Fishes of Canada, University of Toronto Press

Rainbow Smelt in the Petitcodiac River Watershed

• 33,000 fish recorded at the fishway in 1972 (Semple, J.R.,1979)
• Angling records for 1975 indicated a small fishery in the order of 5,000 smelts; it is estimated that the Petitcodiac River could support a fishery for approximately 43,500 smelts (ADI Ltd. and Washburn and Gilis Associates Ltd., 1992)
• Recreational fishery severely depleted since the causeway construction
• Greatly reduced population