The Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island used trollers to occasionally catch albacore and Pacific bluefin tuna [1], which were baked and jarred for the winter months [2].
Atlantic mackerel were eaten by the Saint Lawrence Iroquois, Penobscot and Micmac (Mi'kmaq) [3-5], as well as the Micmac (Mi'kmaq) of Richibucto and Newfoundland, Inuit of Makkovik, Labrador and Wampanoag [6-9]. The Saint Lawrence Iroquois caught mackerel in summer; large groups of men, women and children would journey along the St. Lawrence River to the Gaspe Peninsula to catch them [5]. The Penobscot jigged mackerel with a large hook made of willow connected to a basswood fibre line; the hook was weighted with a rock and was not baited [4].
References
1. 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.
2. Kenyon SM: The Kyuquot Way: A Study of a West Coast (Nootkan) Community, vol. Paper No. 61 (Canadian Ethnology Service). Ottawa: National Museums of Canada; 1980.
3. Prins HEL: The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival, vol. Series: Case studies in Cultural Anthropology. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers; 1996.
4. Speck FG. In: Penobscot Man The Life History of a Forest Tribe in Maine. edn. USA: University of Pennsylvania Press; 1940.
5. Trigger BG, Pendergast JF: Saint Lawrence Iroquoians. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 15: Northeast. edn. Edited by Trigger BG. Washington, DC: Simthsonian Institution; 1978: 357-359.
6. Mackey MGA, Bernard L, Smith BS: Country Food Consumption by Selected Households of the Micmac in Conne River Newfoundland in 1985-86. In.; 1986.
7. Mackey MGA, Orr RDM: An Evaluation of Household Country Food Use in Makkovik, Labrador, July 1980 - June 1981. Arctic 1987, 40(1):60-65.
8. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of marine life by the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1948, 38(8):257-265.
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.
Tuna and mackerel represent a family of large, migratory saltwater fish known for forming large schools and being very efficient swimmers [1]. In North America, tuna and mackerel include the Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis), the albacore (T. alalunga), and the Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus).
The Pacific bluefin tuna occurs in the Pacific Ocean, along western North America, from Alaska to Mexico. They are most closely related to and resemble the ablbacore. They are sleek silvery and torpedo-shaped with very pointed fins, a narrow tail base, and a series of small finlets between the dorsal and tail fin. Pacific bluefin tuna are one of the largest saltwater fish and can reach 3 m long and weigh 450 kg [2].
The albacore occurs in both Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They are most closely related to and resemble the Pacific bluefin tuna. They are sleek silvery and torpedo-shaped with very pointed fins, a narrow tail base, and a series of small finlets between the dorsal and tail fin. Albacore are smaller than the Pacific bluefin tuna, rarely growing much bigger than around 1.5 m long and weigh 60 kg, and have a characteristically elongated pectoral fin [3].
The Atlantic mackerel occurs along the North America Atlantic coast, from Labrador to North Carolina. They have a long, streamlined body with a unique zebra-like colour pattern on their back and are much smaller than tuna species, rarely growing above 60 cm long and weighing more than 3.5 kg. They overwinter in deep waters, but in spring, they migrate to the shore in large schools close to the surface. They are constantly swimming to ensure enough oxygenated water passes through their gills and feed mainly on small fish and crustaceans [4].
References
1. Migdalski EC, Fichter GS: The fresh and salt water fishes of the world. New York, NY, USA: Knopf; 1976.
2. "Thunnus orientalis Temminck and Schlegel, 1844." [http://eol.org/pages/214754/details]
3. "Thunnus alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788." [http://eol.org/pages/205933/details]
4. "Scomber scombrus Linnaeus, 1758." [http://eol.org/pages/206785/details]