Vendace: Britains rarest fish

The Vendace (Coregonus vandesius) is one of the rarest freshwater fish in Britain and one of the most geographically restricted.

Small, silvery and delicate in appearance, it belongs to the salmon family and is closely related to whitefish found in colder regions of northern Europe. In the UK, however, it survives in only a handful of lakes, making it a species of exceptional conservation importance.

A Fish of Clear, Cold Water

Vendace are slender fish with bright silver flanks and a bluish-green back.

Their lower jaw projects slightly beyond the upper, giving them a distinctive profile. Most individuals grow to around 20–25 centimetres in length, although many are smaller.

They are adapted to deep, cool, well-oxygenated lakes. Unlike many other freshwater fish, vendace spend much of their lives in open water rather than close to any shoreline. They form shoals and feed mainly on tiny drifting animals known as zooplankton.

Because they rely on clean, oxygen-rich water, vendace are highly sensitive to environmental change.

Rising water temperatures, pollution, and nutrient enrichment can all seriously threaten their survival.

A Unique British History

The vendace has a remarkable history in Britain. It was historically found in only two natural sites in England: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in Cumbria.

These lakes lie within the Lake District, an area shaped by glaciation thousands of years ago. So it is believed that vendace became isolated in these waters after the last Ice Age, surviving as a relict population from colder times.

Over the 20th century, pressures such as water abstraction, nutrient runoff from agriculture, and climate change has led to severe declines. Vendace disappeared from one of their original lakes for a period, raising fears that the species might be lost from England altogether.

Conservation action has since played a vital role since. Translocation projects establishing new refuge populations in other suitable lakes in Cumbria and Scotland have been undertaken to help reduce the risk of total extinction from a single environmental event.

Spawning and Life Cycle

Vendace seem to love the cold and they spawn in late autumn and early winter. They lay their eggs over gravel in shallow areas of lakes. This is generally the only time they will actively come close the shoreline. The eggs develop slowly in this cold water and they begin to hatch in early spring.

Compared with many fish species, vendace have relatively short lives, often living for only a few years. Their populations can fluctuate naturally from year to year depending on environmental conditions.

Conservation Significance

The vendace is listed as endangered in the UK and is legally protected.

Its conservation also highlights the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems, which are among the most threatened habitats in Britain.

Efforts to protect vendace include improving water quality, monitoring populations, managing invasive species, and creating additional secure populations. Because the fish are so sensitive to warming temperatures, climate resilience is an increasing focus of conservation planning.

The vendace may not be very widely known, but it represents a unique fragment of Britain’s natural heritage.

Its continued survival depends on careful stewardship of the cold, clear lakes it calls home.

At present, there isn’t a single exact nationwide count of vendace fish in Britain published in recent official sources, but scientific monitoring gives us useful estimates for key populations:

In Derwent Water in the Lake District, surveys have previously estimated there to be around 5,000 adult vendace in that lake alone. This estimate is a few years old now though and comes from long-term monitoring using hydroacoustics and netting (data from 2016–2017).

Translocated populations in Scottish lochs (for example Loch Skeen) are described as being “highly abundant”, but detailed count estimates for those have not routinely published.

Because vendace are rare, live in deep water, and are difficult to survey precisely, scientists track them through annual monitoring rather than regular full counts.

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