Chapter 3.24
3.24.Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)
Ryan Kleinjan , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Kleinjan,R. (2022) Fish And Freshwater/Marine Invertebrates. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Introduction
Part one of this project will focus on the pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) species and its relation to the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The economics, geographic location and cultural significance will be highlighted. The purpose of this part is to educate the Canadian public about the significance of the pink salmon to Canada’s history, but especially the history tied to the Indigenous people.
General Info And Description
The Latin name of Pink Salmon is Oncorhynchus gorbuscha. They are sometimes referred to in slang as ‘humpies’ due to the hump males develop on their back (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2022). They are the smallest salmon in North America, averaging between 3.5 to 5 lbs, and 20-25 inches in length (ADFG, 2022). The colour and appearance of pink salmon varies throughout their life cycle. They have distinctive large dark oval spots along their tail fin and back while maturing, but, while at sea, pink salmon become more of a blue-to-blue green colour on their back, white on their underside and silver on their sides
While breeding, the males develop a hump on their back and turn darker on their back with red and green on their sides (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2016). Spawning females have a similar colour change, but it is less drastic and vibrant (Government of Canada, 2016). Pinks do not spend long periods of time in fresh water, unlike the Coho or Sockeye salmon (NOAA, 2022). Young salmon quickly migrate downstream until they reach the ocean, where they will feed and grow rapidly. They spend around one and a half years in the Pacific Ocean, before returning to spawn in fresh water in August to October (NOAA, 2022). Pink Salmon have a very fixed life cycle, so much so that there are differences in the genetic make up of the salmon that spawn in even years as compared to odd years (Radchenko 2022). Historically, odd-year salmon runs were much larger than even-year runs (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020; Niemelä, 2016). This led to inconsistent food supply to some tribes (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020).
Geographic Origins
Pink Salmon are found where most of pacific salmon are found, that is, in the northern Pacific Ocean. Pink Salmon have one of the larger ranges in the Pacific Ocean than other salmon might have (Wild Salmon Center, 2022). Pink salmon are currently found all along the west coast of Canada, reaching as south as California and as far north as Alaska .(Wild Salmon Center, 2022) This is shown in Figure 1. Pink Salmon do not migrate, and spawn not nearly as far up rivers as other Pacific Salmon might (Wild Salmon Center, 2022). These salmon are now moving to and colonizing the western arctic of Canada, with some reports of them in the Mackenzie River (Government of Canada, 2016)
However, the historic origins of pinks do not include such a large area. One reason that salmon have moved further north is that they survive better in colder waters. As one study in Alaska found, increasing air and water surface temperature led to pink salmon spawning earlier (Taylor, 2008). This early spawning led to the migrating population being mismatched with the proper environmental conditions during their early life. This mismatch shows up later in life, as the salmon will spawn too early, and the water temperature in the river where the females will lay their eggs is too warm. This leads to excessive pre-spawning mortality (Taylor, 2008).
Pink Salmon living on the west coast of Canada were available to many different Indigenous tribes. These included the Coast Salish people, who have a long connection with the salmon (Sacred Sea, 2022). The Salish derived their pink salmon from the Saanich Inlet, which is by the modern-day city of Victoria, BC (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Other areas that pink salmon inhabit include the Fraser River, Georgia Strait and the areas where the Kwakwaka’wakw people lived (see Figure 3) (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). These areas include most of the southwestern coast of British Columbia.
Economic Background
Pink salmon may have been the most common pacific salmon, but it was not the most consumed salmon. Many indigenous tribes did not eat much of this salmon because of its poor taste and it did not preserve as well as other types of salmon due to its low-fat content (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020; Wild Salmon Center, 2022). For the Thompson peoples, pink salmon was only hunted when other salmon species were scare. Other tribes, such as the Lillooet and Shuswap, considered pink salmon to be ‘famine food’ (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Pink salmon were not a staple of many diets before canning and other preserving technologies.
The use of Pink Salmon by different tribes also depended on their location and proximity to an estuary. The tribes on the coast, like the Coast Salish, had a plentiful number of pink salmon, and so they traded with the Middle Columbia River Salish peoples (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Pink Salmon became available to more tribes after the addition of fish ladders (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Fish ladders were first used in Canada in 1852, and specifically for the purpose of salmon migration (Pariona, 2017). The fish ladders were used to help fish bypass waterfalls, dams and other blockages (Pariona, 2017). Ones of these tribes that salmon became available to was the Lillooet. (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Many people would settle around the rivers where the salmon runs occurred, and many fishing villages were set up along these rivers (Indigenous Tourism: BC, 2019). The salmon were an important component to survival to a tribe, leading to tribes settling where the salmon were plentiful.
Cultural Connections
Pink Salmon are not just a source of food for the indigenous peoples of what is now British Columbia, but they are also a source of inspiration. The salmon running up stream in the Fraser River pass through the Secepemc’ulecw area, and in passing through, it gives wisdom to the surrounding tribes (Indigenous Tourism: BC, 2019). This wisdom included the fish being a model of consistency. Elder Ralph Philips of Xatsull First Nation says, “We’ve been walking the same trail for over a thousand years because we know the fish are going to be there.” (Indigenous Tourism: BC, 2019). This consistency not only tied the people to the salmon, but also to past generations, creating strong community bonds which are necessary for the preservation of a society.
The endurance of salmon against the mighty current to fulfill their life cycle was another virtue that the Secwepemc people learned. This endurance of the salmon has allowed the tribe to survive for generations, so naturally there is a lot of respect for the fish (Indigenous Tourism: BC, 2019). Again, Elder Philips says, “They come back every year to feed us and to help us live a good life.”. This endurance in hardship by the salmon has been said to be a ‘medicine’ given to the people, who were to reciprocate this in their life (Indigenous Tourism: BC, 2019). The cultural values and work ethic of the Secwepemc were greatly shaped by the salmon in their rivers.
Salmon were a major part of religious ceremonies, legends and myths for the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples as well (Cullon, 2013). Salmon had a special importance during their summer ceremonies, where they appeared as the supernatural beings hunted by man (Cullon, 2013). Other oral traditions that salmon appeared in were dances, songs and prayers (Cullon, 2013). In these, salmon would either appear in salmon form, or in human form with a salmon mask on (Cullon, 2013). Sometimes, though, salmon would take the form of a sisiutl (Cullon, 2013). A sisiutl is a mythical creature that has two snake-like heads on either end of a serpent body (Cullon, 2013). This prominent role played by salmon in culture led the Kwakwaka’wakw people fight to preserve the salmon (Cullon, 2013).
Cooking, Preservation And Nutrition
As mentioned earlier, Pink Salmon was not the choicest salmon among the Indigenous nations on Canada’s west coast. This is because of the low-fat content (Gray, 2018). The low amount of fat also made the salmon more difficult to preserve well (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Some salmon was preserved by smoking, drying and fermenting, but pink salmon was eaten as fresh as possible. According to some reports of the Tahltan people, they only ate fresh Pink Salmon (Emmons, 1979). Among the Tahltan people, it was the women that were responsible for the preparation of fish. The head was considered the prime part and consumed fermented with salmon eggs (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). The bony parts of the fish were given to the dogs. As with most food sources, the Indigenous peoples were very efficient with salmon.
Pink salmon is a quite significant source of both energy and nutrients. It is energy dense, in that it is 72% protein and 28% fat (Fat Secret, 2022). In half of an average fillet, there is 184 calories, and many essential nutrients such as potassium, iron and vitamin A. Some reason for caution in eating pink salmon is the high levels of cholesterol, which is around 28% of the average daily necessary value (Fat Secret, 2022). It also contains higher amounts of saturated fat and sodium (Fat Secret, 2022). Protein is an essential component of any community’s diet, and Pink Salmon provided that for the Indigenous nations.
There are many ways that pink salmon was preserved and stored, including drying, fermentation, steaming and boiling. For boiling, the fresh salmon fillets were wrapped in bark
and then placed in birch bark containers along with hot rocks (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). The fillets were also commonly eaten dried, and this drying process involved the flesh being smoked dried on racks. The fillets were always dried skin side down, as is shown in Figure 4. The storing of pink salmon generally involved wrapping the fillets in bark and placing them in the ground. This food cache would then be covered with branches and leaves. It was essential that these salmon caches would not be contaminated with fly eggs, so bark was also packed into the cache to prevent that. The parts of the salmon that were fermented included the head and the eggs. Fermentation was done by placing the head or eggs in an underground cache lined with maple leaves. The total fermentation process took up to two months. The fermented head and eggs were considered the choice part of the salmon (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). The process of preservation was taken seriously by everyone to ensure that the tribe would have enough meat until the next salmon run.
Just as there were several ways of preserving pink salmon, there are also many ways it was consumed. It is said that the way a tribe cut their salmon before smoking was so unique, that pieces of smoked salmon would be traded as greeting cards (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Pink salmon was consumed differently depending on the time of year. During the salmon run, the fresh salmon was eaten baked, cooked on a skewer or soaked in salty seawater (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). The Tlingit peoples, who are from the Southeast Alaska area, eat their fresh salmon with seal oil or cooked with berries (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). This cooking in berries is called kaneegwal (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2020). Each tribe had their own preferred and common method of eating pink salmon.
References
1.Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) (2022). Pink Salmon Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=pinksalmon.main
2.Augerot, X., Foley, D. N., & Steinback, C. (2005). Atlas of Pacific salmon: the first map-based status assessment of salmon in the North Pacific. University of California Press.
3. Cullon, D. (2013). A view from the watchman’s pole: salmon, animism and the Kwakwaka’wakw summer ceremonial. BC Studies, 177, 9–37, 225.
4.Emmons, G. T. (1979). The Tahltan Indians. Humanities Press.
5.Fat Secret. (2022). Calories in pink salmon and nutrition facts. https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/pink-salmon
6.First Nations. (2021). First Nations - land rights and environmentalism in British Columbia. http://www.firstnations.de/fisheries/kwakwakawakw.htm
7.Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2016). “Pink Salmon.” Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Communications Branch, https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/pink-salmon-saumon-rose-eng.html.
8.Gray, C. (2018, November 27). What are the benefits of pink salmon? https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-pink-salmon-4387.html
9.Indigenous Tourism: British Columbia. (2019). Living legends: The teachings of the salmon. https://www.indigenousbc.com/stories/the-teachings-of-the-salmon
10.Kuhnlein, H., & Humphries, M. (2020). Salmon | Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America - Animals - Fish - Searun Fish. http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/fish/searun-fish/page.aspx?id=6446
11.Niemelä, E., Dempson, A., Zubchenko, A., & Johansen, N et al. (2016). Pink Salmon in the Barents Region. https://www.asf.ca/assets/files/Pink-salmon_19.08.2016.compressed.pdf
12.NOAA Fisheries. (2022). Pink Salmon, NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pink-salmon.
13.O'Harra, D. (2016, September 30). Study of alaska natives confirms salmon-rich diet prevents diabetes, heart disease. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/study-alaska-natives-confirms-salmon-rich-diet-prevents-diabetes-heart-disease/2011/03/30/
14.Pariona, A. (2017). What is the importance of a fish ladder? https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-importance-of-a-fish-ladder.html
15.Radchenko, Vladimir. (2022). Status of Stocks and Fisheries of Pink Salmon (Onchorhynchus Gorbuscha) and Chum Salmon (O. Keta) in Areas of their Mass Artificial Reproduction. Researchgate, 10.36038/0234-2774-2021-22-4-140-181
16.Sacred Sea. (2022). Salmon. https://sacredsea.org/salmon/
17. Taylor, S. G. (2008). Climate warming causes phenological shift in Pink Salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, behavior at Auke Creek, Alaska. Global Change Biology, 14(2), 229–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01494.x
18.Wild Salmon Center. (2022). Pink salmon. https://wildsalmoncenter.org/salmon-species/pink-salmon/