Key Fish Terms - Syilx 101

“One of the key values in our Indigenous Syilx approach to learning is that we must create relationships for learning and teaching to occur. We create new understanding by gathering bits of old and current knowledge and engaging in a continual process of dialogue, action and reflection. The steps of this process recur like an upwards spiral, lifting us towards greater understanding and ability. “ Dr. Bill Cohen

Key Points:

The wellbeing of the salmon is a reflection of our wellbeing as a society

Water is essential for life: all living thing depend on water and water connects all life

Water should be treated as a relative not a resource.

The Okanagan watershed flows down the Colombia River and into the Pacific Ocean.

All water passes through a water cycle: Although the cycle is ongoing, clean water is finite and must be taken care of and respected.

Humans use more water than any other living thing on earth. Some human activities/usages are harmful to water supply and the aquatic environment.

Contaminants and toxins within the water can cause harmful effects on all life, especially our salmon.

Salmon are a central part of Syilx culture and provide nutrients to our ecosystem

Invasive species can be a threat to our salmon

Term	Definition
Egg	Female reproduction material
Milt	Male reproductive material
Alevins	This term is usually reserved for newly hatched fish that have not yet absorbed the entire yolk sac that they were born with. In many cases, larval fish still have to undergo additional changes before they resemble their adult life history stage. (Alevin is the second stage of a salmon life who spend their days in the gravel nest.)
Fry	This term is reserved for newly hatched fish, fingerlings or fish that are less than a year old.
Smolt	For one to two years the salmon grows in fresh water. It has scales and fins and can feed itself. Its gills and kidneys begin to change during this stage to prepare the salmon for salt water.
Adult Salmon	The stage the salmon is at when the salmon is matured in the ocean.
Spawning	Female fish release eggs into the water and male fish fertilize eggs by releasing milt. Not all eggs are fertilized. This typically occurs after four years for our Okanagan sockeye salmon and the salmon will die shortly after.
Caudal Fin	Also known as a tail… This is what the female uses to dig and prep her “nest”.
Redd	The nest of fish eggs.
Sockeye	The type of Salmon that are released into Okanagan Lake every May.
Hatchery	A controlled area for fish eggs to hatch before the salmon are released as fry
Migration	Movement of from one habitat to another. Salmon spend their whole lives doing this. This is the journey that the Okanagan salmon goes on down the Colombia river, to the ocean, and back again.
Invasive Species	An invasive species is an introduced organism (Plant/ animal/fish) that negatively alters its new environment and can take away from other species. Some examples in the Okanagan include mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and even gold fish!
Pollution	Presence of a harmful substance in the environment/water
Algae	A plant or plant like organism that usually grows in water and produces chlorophyll but does not produce seeds.
Broodstock	A small population of any animal maintained as a source of population replacement or for the establishment of new populations in suitable habitats.
Dorsal	This region of a fish refers to the surface running along the backbone of the fish
Endangered	At serious risk of extinction.
Extinct	The name of the condition of a species or population of a species which no longer exists.
Threatened	Any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future.
Gills	The respiratory organ of aquatic animals that breathes oxygen through water.
Plankton	Plankton are a collection of tiny, microscopic organisms that live at and beneath the surface of lakes, rivers, ponds, and oceans across the planet. They provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales.
Okanagan Lake	Local body of freshwater where fry are released into in the late spring
Prey	The animal or species being hunted.
Predator	an animal that naturally preys on others.
School	A group of fish swimming together
Okanagan Watershed	A narrow region (20km wide and 200km long) that spans from Armstrong to the US border and includes six main lakes – Okanagan, Kalamalka, Wood, Skaha, Vaseux and Osoyoos – as well as all headwaters – creeks and rivers coming down the mountains. (diagram) The Okanagan River drains the lakes and flows south across the International Boundary as a small tributary to the Columbia River. Okanagan Basin water flows into the Columbia River, past the city of Portland, to the Pacific Ocean.
Colombia River	This body of water flows from British Colombia, down through Washington State, and connects to the pacific ocean through Oregon. It’s largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America. This is how the sockeye salmon migrate to the ocean and then return to spawn in Canada. The Columbia River is the largest hydroelectric power-producing river on the entire continent of North America. Fourteen different hydroelectric dams span the width of the river and produce power.
Pacific Ocean	The largest and deepest of Earth’s five oceanic divisions.
Nutrients	A substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life. Fish provide plenty!