The number of salmonid taxa within some genera (e.g. Salmo, Salvelinus, and Coregonus) listed in various taxonomic databases (e.g. Fishbase or Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes) has increased very rapidly over the past 15-20 years. Many of these taxa are not widely accepted across the international community and are associated with very sparse data, leading to significant difficulty in accurately carrying out Red List assessments. The SSG strongly recommends a rigorous evaluation of the validity of these species designations, which can have real implications where legal protection is reflected by the use of these binomial taxonomic names.

The systematics of Eurasian ciscoes and whitefishes (Coregonus spp.) has been the subject of considerable debate since the turn of the 21^st century, with little indication of a definitive outcome.

It is widely accepted that non-anadromous members of this group have repeatedly undergone adaptive radiations in boreal, subarctic and perialpine lakes (Douglas et al. 1999, Østbye et al. 2005, Kahilainen and Østbye 2006, Harrod et al. 2010, Hudson et al. 2011).

Subpopulations inhabiting these systems largely diversified in the wake of the most recent glacial period 10,000-15,000 years ago. They are typified by parallel patterns of divergence in traits associated with foraging (i.e., gill raker counts, benthic vs. pelagic feeding ecology), physiology (i.e., growth rate, habitat depth partitioning) and reproductive ecology (i.e., reproductive timing and spawning habitat).

Up to six different sympatric forms sometimes referred to as “morphs”, "ecomorphs" or "ecotypes" have been recorded in perialpine lakes, and these radiations might be even more diverse in some large systems of northeastern Europe (Præbel et al. 2013, Doenz et al. 2018, Bitz‐Thorsen et al. 2020, Öhlund et al. 2020).

However, there exist significant differences in opinion regarding the taxonomic status of these forms.

In Northern Europe, including the United Kingdom, the majority of subpopulations are usually regarded as belonging to two widely-distributed species; Coregonus albula (ciscoes) and C. lavaretus (whitefishes), with the latter also frequently referred to as the "Coregonus lavaretus species complex” (Etheridge et al. 2012, Wanke et al. 2017, Häkli et al. 2018, Crotti et al. 2020). Within this comparatively uniform taxonomic concept, the catch-all English vernacular name “Vendace” is typically used for C. albula while "Common Whitefish" or "European Whitefish" are applied to C. lavaretus. Irish subpopulations are included within the pan-Arctic Coregonus autumnalis (Arctic Cisco).

In contrast, researchers and fisheries authorities based in Central Europe have tended to treat the different forms as distinct taxa, leading to the recognition of more than 60 species across the European region (Kottelat and Freyhof 2007, Selz et al. 2020, De-Kayne et al. 2022, Selz and Seehausen 2023). Under this diverse taxonomic concept, the name “Vendace” is restricted to its original usage for the United Kingdom endemic Coregonus vandesius and the native range of C. lavaretus is limited to its type locality of Lake Bourget in France. Irish subpopulations are regarded to comprise the endemic species C. pollan.

In the absence of a region-wide consensus, the Red List continues to follow the taxonomy provided by Fricke et al. (2024).

The Broad Whitefish is very widespread and no major threats have been identified. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

This species has a northern Holarctic distribution, where it enters rivers along the coastlines of northern and eastern Russia, the United States (Alaska) and northwestern Canada.

In Russia, its range extends eastwards from the Pechora River in Pechora Bay to the Penzhina River in the northern Sea of Okhtosk. It is absent from the Kamchatka Peninsula.

In North America, it occurs between the Kuskokwim River in the Bering Sea basin and the Perry River in Chester Bay (Nunavut, Canada).

There is no evidence that this species is in decline.

This species primarily inhabits freshwater streams but also enters lakes, deeper rivers and coastal brackish waters where it overwinters. It spawns in tributaries with gravel substrates, and juveniles move downstream after hatching.

No major threats have been identified. However, all members of the family Coregonidae are considered to be vulnerable to the effects of altered temperature and flow regimes driven by climate change.

This species is of regional importance in commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and as a gamefish.

Currently, this species is of relatively low conservation concern and does not require significant additional protection or major management, monitoring, or research action.