Coregonus artedi, commonly known as the cisco, is a North American species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae.

Northern cisco are preyed upon by a wide variety of predatory species, and have a particularly important place in the diet of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush).

The reduced abundance is believed to result from the cumulative effects of several factors, including the expansion of non-native species such as alewife, rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).

It is unclear what effect the annual stocking of several million non-native Pacific salmon in the Great Lakes has had on northern cisco.

Additionally, substantial environmental degradation in some parts of the range has undoubtedly contributed to the stresses on northern cisco populations.

In the early years of the fishery, herring provided some of the largest catches from the Great Lakes and, when salted down or smoked for preservation, provisioned much of the surrounding territory.

The group is the subject of considerable debate about the taxonomic independence and relationships of the different forms, and it has been credibly argued that they all comprise merely one highly variable larger species that also includes the ecologically and morphologically separable fishes, including the following at least (some of which may be extinct): Collectively, these fishes are often referred to as a species complex, the Coregonus artedi complex, or as Coregonus artedi sensu lato (broad sense).

[6] While northern cisco does play an important role in the diet of many people still, its primary utility from commercial sources is for its roe.