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August 22, 2000

Today, we watched the teacher demonstrate how to cut the salmon. She started by giving us the names of the salmon terms in English and Athabascan.

Salmon eggs-kk'oonh

Fish slime-k'itl'isga'

Flesh-minot

Salmon gills-mikk'usga'

Salmon scales-migholga'

Salmon fins on the bottom-k'kaal ghogga'

Salmon fin on the back-yahaa kk'oeedimaay

The teacher cut the fish down the middle of the belly lengthwise. She removed the guts and scraped the inside of debris. She cut the head off and the top back fin. The backbone of the salmon was cut on both sides to remove most of the flesh off of it. The flesh was cut horizontally to make it easier to dry. The teacher said the backbone is sometimes cut off and dried by itself for half-dried fish or for dog food. The part with the most flesh is dried for eating.

(The students must include as much detail as possible in the daily journals. Questions: Where did the event take place, what time, who was there, what was demonstrated, what was said, draw any charts or graphs, and write anything that was written on the board.)

 

Chum Salmon

 

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Series

Chum salmon(Oncorhynchus keta)have the widest distribution of any of the Pacific salmon. They range south to the Sacramento River in California and the island of Kyushu in the Sea of Japan. In the north they range east in the Arctic Ocean to the Mackenzie River in Canada and west to the Lena River in Siberia. Chum salmon are the most abundant commercially harvested salmon species in arctic, northwestern, and Interior Alaska, but are of relatively less importance in other areas of the state. There they are known locally as "dog salmon" and are a traditional source of dried fish for winter use.

General description: Ocean fresh chum salmon are metallic greenish-blue on the dorsal surface (top) with fine black speckles. They are difficult to distinguish from sockeye and coho salmon without examining their gills or caudal fin scale patterns. Chum have fewer but larger gillrakers than other salmon. After nearing fresh water, however, the chum salmon changes color-particularly noticeable are vertical bars of green and purple, which give them the common name, calico salmon. The males develop the typical hooked snout of Pacific salmon and very large teeth which partially account for their other name of dog salmon. The females have a dark horizontal band along the lateral line; their green and purple vertical bars are not so obvious.

Life history: Chum salmon often spawn in small side channels and other areas of large rivers where upwelling springs provide excellent conditions for egg survival. They also spawn in many of the same places as do pink salmon, i.e., small streams and intertidal zones. Some chum in the Yukon River travel over 2,000 miles to spawn in the Yukon Territory. These have the brightest color and possess the highest oil content of any chum salmon when they begin their upstream journey. Chum salmon spawning is typical of Pacific salmon with the eggs deposited in redds located primarily in upwelling spring areas of streams. Female chum may lay as many as 4,000 eggs, but fecundity typically ranges between 2,400 and 3,100 eggs.

Chum do not have a period of freshwater residence after emergence of the fry as do chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon. Chums are similar to pink salmon in this respect, except that chum fry do not move out into the ocean in the spring as quickly as pink fry. Chum fry feed on small insects in the stream and estuary before forming into schools in salt water where their diet usually consists of zooplankton. By fall they move out into the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska where they spend one or more of the winters of their 3- to 6-year lives. In southeastern Alaska most chum salmon mature at 4 years of age, although there is considerable variation in age at maturity between streams. There is also a higher percentage of chums in the northern areas of the state. Chum vary in size from 4 to over 30 pounds, but usually range from 7 to 18 pounds, with females usually smaller than males.

Noncommercial fishery: In arctic, northwestern and Interior Alaska, chum salmon remain an important year-round source of fresh and dried fish for subsistence and personal use purposes. Sport fishers generally capture chum salmon incidental to fishing for other Pacific salmon in either fresh or salt water. Statewide sport harvest usually totals fewer than 25,000 chums. After entering fresh water, chums are most often prepared as a smoked product.

Commercial fishery: In the last few years an average of 11 million chum salmon, worth over $32 million, have been caught in Alaska. Most chum are caught by purse seines and drift gillnets, but fishwheels and set gillnets harvest a portion of the catch. In many areas they have been harvested incidental to the catch of pink salmon. The development of markets for fresh and frozen chum in Japan and northern Europe has increased their demand, especially in the last decade. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has built several hatcheries primarily for chum salmon products.

Text: Lawrence S. Buklis
Illustration: Detlef Buettner
Revised and reprinted 1994

adfgweb@fishgame.state.ak.us

Write two words a day on the board for the students to pronounce aloud and to memorize. The terms and definitions will be written in English and Athabascan. The students will be quizzed at the end of both weeks on the vocabulary.

1. Who built the smoke house?

2. Who uses the smoke house?

3. What do you use the smoke house for?

4. How many days does the fish have to be smoked?

5. What kind of wood is used to smoke the fish?

6. How often do you have to check on the fire in the smoke house?

7. What do you do with the smoked items after it is done in the smoke house?

8. How many cut fish can you fit in the smoke house at one time?

9. Do you have different ways of processing the different fish?

10. What are the difficulties of running a smoke house?

Name of student__________________________Date________________

Name of person interviewed___________________________

1. What is the Athabascan name for the Dog Salmon?

2. Label the parts of the salmon in English and Athabascan.(use arrows to point to the parts)

 

3. What type of water way is best for salmon to spawn in?

4. How many eggs does a typical Dog Salmon lay?

5. Why are these salmon called "Dog Salmon"?

6. Where do the salmon go during the winters?

7. What is the average life span of the Dog Salmon?

8. When does the village prepare for the salmon run?

9. What are the traditional uses of the Dog Salmon in the village?

10. Figure out what percentage each part of the salmon is based on the following information.

Whole salmon 16 pounds

Eggs 1__________

Water weight 1__________

Fins 1__________

Head 2__________

Backbone 3 pounds __________

Tail 1 pound __________

Two fleshed salmon bellies 7 __________

11. Name four steps in the salmon skin tanning process.

a.

b.

c.

d.

12. Draw a chart depicting the following information.

Large scales 14

Medium scales 12

Small scales 22

1. What is the Athabascan name for the Dog Salmon? Noolaaghe

2. Label the parts of the salmon in English and Athabascan.(use arrows to point to the parts)

 3. What type of water way is best for salmon to spawn in? small side streams

4. How many eggs does a typical Dog Salmon lay? 2400-3100

5. Why are these salmon called "Dog Salmon"? very large dog-like teeth

6. Where do the salmon go during the winters? Most Alaskan salmon winter in the Bering Sea or Gulf of Alaska.

7. What is the average life span of the Dog Salmon? 4-6 years

8. When does the village prepare for the salmon run? Third week in June

9. What are the traditional uses of the Dog Salmon in the village? Used for human consumption/dog food/clothing

10. Figure out what percentage each part of the salmon is based on the following information.

Whole salmon 16 pounds

Eggs 1_____1/16_____

Water weight 1___1/16_______

Fins 1____1/16______

Head 2_____2/16_____

Backbone 3 pounds ____3/16______

Tail 1 pound ____1/16______

Two fleshed salmon bellies 7 ____7/16______

11. Name four steps in the salmon skin tanning process.

a. Smoke dry the salmon

b. cut the flesh off

c. Scrape the oil off

d. soften the skin by wringing it

12. Draw a graph depicting the following information. 

Scales	2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Small	x x x x x x x x x x x
Medium	x x x x x x
Large	x x x x x x x

1. Define the following Athabascan terms.

a. tlaabaas-

b. k'itl'isga'-

c. lookka' lil kkaakin-

d. mikkideetol kkoli-

e. tl'aah-

f. tt'aadikonh-

g. migho kk'o nokidilkkoniyh-

h. neelotlaah-

2. Scale down the following patterns by 20%.

a. 4" x 6" bag_________

b. 3" x 5" bag_________

3. Name three items needed to start sewing a fish skin bag.

a.

b.

c.

4. Name two spiritual beliefs about salmon.

a.

b.

5. Name two nutritional values of the salmon.

a.

b.

6. Write a short essay describing the importance of salmon in the lives of the community.

1. Define the following Athabascan terms.

a. tlaabaas-fish cutting knife shaped like a half-moon.

b. k'itl'isga'-fish slime.

c. lookka' lil kkaakin-fish skin boots.

d. mikkideetol kkoli-sole of the boot.

e. tl'aah-thread.

f. tt'aadikonh-needle.

g. migho kk'o nokidilkkoniyh-patterns.

h. neelotlaah-thimble.

2. Scale down the following patterns by 20%.

a. 4" x 6" bag___3.2" x 4.8"_

b. 3" x 5" bag___2.4" x 4"__

3. Name three items needed to start sewing a fish skin bag.

a. (thread, needle, fish skins, scissors, thimble)

b.

c.

4. Name two spiritual beliefs about salmon.

a. (wards off bad spirits, treat it good so it will return, throw the bones back in the water so the fish will return, don't waste the salmon or it will not be plentiful next time)

b.

5. Name two nutritional values of the salmon.

a. (the salmon is strong in protein, calcium, fat, iron)

b.

6. Write a short essay describing the importance of salmon in the lives of the community.

(answers will vary)

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