Sculpins General
Sculpins, of unspecified species, were reported to have been consumed by Alaskan cultures, including Aleut [1-5], Inuit of Belcher Island [6], Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly Broughton Island) [7] and Labrador [8], Micmac (Mi'kmaq) of Richibucto, New Brunswick [9], Tlingit [10], Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island [11], Coast Salish of British Columbia [12-14] and James Bay Cree [15]. Clyde Inuit were reported to have caught sculpin only in times of scarcity [16] and fresh sculpin were consumed by the Tlingit when salmon and halibut were unavailable [10]. Archeological remains identifying human use found sculpin from Oregon to Alaska [29].
Sculpin were caught by the Nootka with straight-shanked angled hooks and gorges [11]. The southern coast Salish used baited gorges [14], the Lummi and the Samish (Coast Salish people) used spears for large sculpin [13].
When the Toba Inlet people of the British Columbia coastline moved to the Cortez Island area they were referred to as Tl’úhus, which means “large sculpin”.
Pacific staghorn sculpin, commonly referred to as bullheads, are reported to have been eaten by The Kootenai, Native Americans of Southeast Alaska, Nuxalk of Bella Coola, Coast Straits Salish and Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery [13, 17-21]. The Coast Straits Salish are reported to catch Pacific staghorn sculpin with spears while the Nootka caught them using hooks made of hemlock, fir or balsam [13, 17]. The Native Americans of Southeast Alaska deemed it their “most delicious boiled fish” and a legend describes how it acquired its ugly conical body [19].
Shorthorn sculpin are reported to have been consumed either boiled, dried or raw-frozen by East Greenland Inuit [22] and Inuit of Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly Broughton Island) [23]. West Greenland Inuit are said to have consumed these fish only in times of scarcity; they were caught with jigs from kayaks or through holes in the ice [24]. For Inuit of Labrador, shorthorn sculpin were numerous along the coast, however it is reported that the fish were caught only in times of scarcity or for dog food [25].
Cabezon appear to have been eaten by the Coast Tsimshian based on faunal remains excavated from a Tsimshian village located in the Prince Rupert Harbour area of northern British Columbia [26].
Fourhorn sculpin are reported to have been eaten occasionally by Western Arctic Coast cultures [27].
Irish lord were consumed by the Aleut [28], which may have included the red Irish lord and the brown Irish lord.
The Tl’úhus of British Columbia are reported to have named the first visible evening star that appeared in spring and fall after the tidepool sculpin [12].
References
1. Nelson RK: Hunters of The Northern Ice. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; 1969.
2. Bockstoce JR: Eskimos of Northwest Alaska in the Early Nineteenth Century. In: Eskimos of Northwest Alaska in the Early Nineteenth Century. edn. Oxford: University of Oxford; 1977.
3. Clark DW: Prehistory of the Pacific Eskimo Region. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Edited by Damas D. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1984: 136-139.
4. Geist OW, Rainey FG: Archaeological Excavations at Kukulik St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. In: Volume II of the Miscellaneous Publications of the University of Alaska. edn. Washington: United States Government Printing Office; 1936.
5. Lantis M: Aleut. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Washington, DC; 1984: 161-183.
6. Wein EE, Freeman MMR, Makus JC: Use of and preference for traditional foods among the Belcher Island Inuit. Arctic 1996, 49 (3):256-264.
7. Kuhnlein HV: Nutritional and Toxicological Components of Inuit Diets in Broughton Island, Northwest Territories. In.; 1989.
8. Mackey MGA, Orr RDM: An Evaluation of Household Country Food Use in Makkovik, Labrador, July 1980 - June 1981. Arctic 1987, 40(1):60-65.
9. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of animals and plants by the Micmac Indians of New Brunswick. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1951, 41(8):250-259.
10. Emmons GT: Food and Its preparation. In: The Tlingit Indians. edn. Edited by de Laguna F. New York: American Museum of Natural History; 1991: 140-153.
11. Arima E, Dewhirst J: Nootkans of Vancouver Island. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast. edn. Edited by Suttles W. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1990: 391-397.
12. Bouchard R, Kennedy DID: Utilization of fishes, beach foods, and marine mammals by the Tl'uhus Indian People of British Columbia. In.: British Columbia Indian Language Project; 1974.
13. Suttles WP: Coast Salish and Western Washington Indians. In: Coast Salish and Western Washington Indians The Economic Life of the Coast Salish of Haro and Rosario Straits. edn. New York & London: Garland Publishing Inc.; 1974.
14. Suttles W, Lane B: Southern Coast Salish. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast. edn. Edited by Suttles W. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1990: 485-490.
15. Belinsky D, Kuhnlein HV, Yeboah F, Penn AF, Chan HM: Composition of fish consumed by the James Bay Cree. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 1996, 9:148-162.
16. Wenzel GW: Clyde Inuit Adaptation and Ecology: The Organization of Subsistence, vol. Paper: (Canadian Ethnology Service) No. 77 Mercury Series. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada; 1981.
17. Arima EY: The West Coast People: The Nootka of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery, vol. Special Publication No. 6. Victoria, B.C.: British Columbia Provincial Musem; 1983.
18. Hewes GW: Fishing. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 12: Plateau. edn. Edited by Walker DE, Jr. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1998: 620-636.
19. Jacobs M, Jr., Jacobs M, Sr.: Southeast Alaska Native Foods. In: Raveu's Bones. edn. Edited by Hope A; 1982: 112-130.
20. McIlwraith TF: The Bella Coola Indians. Toronto: University of Toronto; 1948.
21. Tuck JA: Northern Iroquoian Prehistory. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 15: Northeast. edn. Edited by Trigger BG. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1978: 322-325.
22. Petersen R: East Greenland before 1950. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Edited by Damas D. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute; 1984: 622-631.
23. Kuhnlein HV, Kubow S, Soueida R: Lipid Components of Traditional Inuit Foods and Diets of Baffin Island. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 1991, 4:227-236.
24. Kleivan I: West Greenland Before 1950. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1984: 595-609.
25. Taylor JG: Labrador Eskimo Settlements of the Early Contact Period, vol. Series: Publications in Ethnology, No. 9. Ottawa: National Musems of Canada; 1974.
26. Stewart FL: The Seasonal Availability of Fish Species Used by the Coast Tsimshians of Northern British Columbia. Syesis 1975, 8:375-388.
27. Eidlitz K: Food and Emergency Food in the Circumpolar Area. In.; 1969.
28. McCartney AP: Prehistory of the Aleutian Region. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Edited by Damas D. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1984: 119-135.
29. McKechnie I, Moss ML: Meta-analysis in zooarchaeology expands perspectives on Indigenous fisheries of the Northwest Coast of North America Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2016, 8:470-85.
Sculpins General
Sculpins represent a family of bottom-dwelling, cold saltwater fish and include in North America: the Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus), the shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius), the fourhorn sculpin (M. quadricornis), the tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus), the cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus), the red Irish lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus), and the brown Irish lord (H. spinosus).
Sculpins have a large, rounded head, often with spines or fleshy appendages, and with a wide mouth and high globular eyes. They have wide, wing-like pectoral fins and a cryptic body colouration that they can change to better camouflage. Their body is tapering towards the tail and their dorsal fin is deeply notched between spiny-rays in the front and soft-rays in the back. Most sculpins occupy shallow intertidal waters, but some prefer deep offshore waters. They most often rest motionless on the sea floor to ambush their preys [1].
The Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) is a saltwater fish occurring along the North American Pacific coast, from Alaska to Mexico. They are scale-less and mottled with shades of grayish olive and of silvery white below the lateral line. They have a branching spine on their gill covers, a dark blotch on their first dorsal fin, and dark bars on their other fins. They are most often found partially buried in sandy bottoms of shallow inshore waters waiting for a crustacean or a fish prey to pass by. They can grow to around 45 cm long [2].
The shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) is a saltwater fish occurring along the North American coast from the Gulf of Maine northwards to the Hudson Bay and along the Arctic coast up to Alaska and the Pacific coast of British Columbia. They are most closely related to the fourhorn sculpin (M. quadricornis). They have spines and fleshy appendages on their head, a greenish-brown colour with dark blotches and white spots above pectoral fins, a reddish orange belly, and dark bands on their fins. They can grow close to 1 m long and are most often found along the bottom of shallow waters [3].
The cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) is a saltwater fish occurring along the North American Pacific coast, from Alaska to Mexico. They are one of the large species of sculpins, reaching up to 1 m long [4].
The fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) is a saltwater fish occurring along the North American coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence northwards to the Hudson Bay and along the Arctic coast up to Alaska, but also landlocked in the Great Lakes. They are most closely related to the shorthorn sculpin (M. scorpius). They have a large head with four spines and fleshy appendages, a rough lateral line, and a greenish brown colour with dark blotches and fin bars [5].
Irish lords are saltwater fish represented in North America by the red Irish lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus) and the brown Irish lord (H. spinosus), occurring along the Pacific coast, from Alaska to California. They both have stripes of scales below their double notched dorsal fin. Unlike the red Irish lord, the brown Irish lord has no fleshy nostril and never has red or pink colour shades [6].
The tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus) is a saltwater fish occurring along the North American Pacific coast, from Alaska to California. They are one of the small species of sculpins, never growing above 10 cm long [7].
References
1. Wooding FH: Lake, river and sea-run fishes of Canada. Madeira Park, BC, Canada: Harbour Publishing; 1997.
2. "Leptocottus armatus Girard, 1854." [http://eol.org/pages/210387/details]
3. "Myoxocephalus scorpius Linnaeus, 1758." [http://eol.org/pages/207351/details]
4. "Scorpaenichthys marmoratus Ayres, 1854." [http://eol.org/pages/212214/details]
5. "Triglopsis quadricornis Linnaeus, 1758." [http://eol.org/pages/223803/details]
6. Humann P: Coastal Fisf Identification: California to Alaska. Jacksonville, FL, USA: New World Publications, Inc.; 1996.
7. "Oligocottus maculosus Girard, 1856." [http://eol.org/pages/210928/details]