Sauger (Sander canadensis) is a freshwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of ≥ 5 m.
Scientific name: Sander canadensis · Water: Freshwater
Size: up to 76 cm
The sauger is a demersal percid whose adults inhabit sand and gravel runs and sandy and muddy pools and backwaters of small to large rivers, and it is less frequent in lakes and impoundments. Larvae feed on cladocerans, copepods and midge larvae, while juveniles consume fishes, and spawning occurs in pairs or small aggregations. Its range is North America: the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and Mississippi River basins from Quebec to Alberta and south to northern Alabama and Louisiana, and it has been introduced into the Atlantic, Gulf and southern Mississippi River drainages. It is recorded from about 5 m downwards, with no maximum depth recorded, and maximum length is about 76 cm total length, commonly about 36 cm; it can live 18 years, maturing at about 32 cm. It is taken in subsistence fisheries and is a gamefish. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 49 of 100 and resilience medium. IUCN lists it as least concern.
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