The eulachon ( (''Thaleichthys pacificus''), also spelled oolichan , ooligan , hooligan ), or the candlefish, is a small

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

species of smelt that spawns in some of the major river systems along the

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coast of

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from

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Etymology

The name "candlefish" derives from it being so fatty during spawning, with up to 15% of the total

body weight Human body weight is a person's mass or weight. Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of mass without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accessori ...

in fat, that if caught, dried, and strung on a wick, it can be burned as a candle. This is the name most often used by early explorers. The name ''eulachon'' (occasionally seen as oolichan, ooligan, oulachon, and uthlecan) is from the Chinookan language and the

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

based on that language. One of several theories for the origin of the name of the state of Oregon is that it was a corruption from the term "Oolichan Trail", the native trade route for oolichan oil. In some parts it is also known as "halimotkw", which can be translated as "savior fish" or "salvation fish", due to its availability for fishing often coming at the end of winter, when food supplies typically run low. The unrelated

sablefish The sablefish (''Anoplopoma fimbria'') is one of two members of the fish family Anoplopomatidae and the only species in the genus ''Anoplopoma''. In English, common names for it include sable (US), butterfish (US), black cod (US, UK, Canada), ...

''Anoplopoma fimbria'' is also called "candlefish" in the

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Species description

Eulachon are distinguished by the large canine-like teeth on the vomer bone and 19 to 31 rays in the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

. Like salmon and trout they have an

adipose fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only b ...

(aft of the dorsal); it is sickle-shaped. The paired fins are longer in male fish than in females. All fins have well-developed breeding tubercles (raised tissue "bumps") in ripe males, but these are poorly developed or absent in females. Adult coloration is brown or blue on the back extending to the top of the head, lighter to silvery white or light blue on the sides, and white on the ventral surface; speckling is extra fine, sparse, and restricted to the back. Adults can reach maximum lengths of but most adults are between . Adults have striae on their operculum that aid in distinguishing ''Thaleichthys pacificus'' from other smelt. They feed on plankton but only while at sea.

Ecology

Eulachon feed primarily on plankton as well as

fish egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s, insect larvae, ocean debris and small crustaceans. It forms an important part of the diet of many ocean and shore predators, and serves as a prominent food source for people living near its spawning streams. Eulachon, as

fish, spend most of their adult lives in the ocean but return to their natal freshwater streams and rivers to spawn and die. As such, one stream may see regular large runs of eulachon while a neighboring stream sees few or none at all. Regular annual runs are common but not entirely predictable, and occasionally a river which has large runs sees a year with no returns; the reasons for such variability are not known. The eulachon run is characteristic for the early portion being almost entirely male, with females following about midway through the run to its conclusion. Males are easily distinguished from females during spawning by fleshy ridges which form along the length of their bodies.

Economics and trade

Indigenous communities of the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska made eulachon an important part of their diet, as well as a valuable trade item with peoples whose territories did not include spawning rivers. The species was caught using traps, rakes, and nets. The harvest continues today, with other residents taking part in the exploitation of the large runs. Today harvested eulachon are typically stored frozen and thawed as needed. They may also be fried, dried, smoked, or canned. Eulachon were also processed for their rich oil. The usual process was to allow the fish to decompose (rot) for a week or more in a hole in the ground, then add boiling hot water and skim off the oil, which would rise to the surface, being less dense than water. Eulachon oil (also known as "Eulachon grease") was traded with inland communities; as a result, the trails over which the trade was conducted came to be known as grease trails. Other uses of eulachon by non-Natives include bait for

sportfishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit (economics), profit; or subs ...

and food for cats and dogs.

Conservation status

In November 2008, the

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

(NMFS) received a petition from the Cowlitz Tribe to list a

distinct population segment {{no footnotes, date=February 2018 A distinct population segment (DPS) is the smallest division of a taxonomic species permitted to be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. ''Species'', as defined in the Act for listing purposes, is a ...

(DPS) of eulachon from

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, (the so-called Southern DPS) as an endangered or threatened species under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

. (ESA). NMFS found that this petition presented enough information to warrant conducting a status review of the species. Based on the status review NMFS proposed listing this species as threatened on March 13, 2009. On March 16, 2010, NOAA announced that the Southern DPS of eulachon will be listed as threatened under the ESA, effective on May 17, 2010 (See: the ''Federal Register'' notice published on May 18, 2010, at 74 FR 3178). On September 6, 2017, the NMFS approved a recovery plan intended to serve as a blueprint for the protection and recovery of the southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of eulachon (''Thaleichthys pacificus'') using the best available science per the requirements of the

. In Canada, the Central Pacific Coast and

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

populations were classified as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2011. At that time, the Nass / Skeena Rivers population was given threatened status, but this was downgraded to Special Concern status when the Nass / Skeena Rivers population was individually reassessed by COSEWIC in 2013. As of May 2023, a decision is pending on the listing of these populations under Schedule 1 of the

Species at Risk Act The ''Species at Risk Act'' (, SARA) is a piece of Canadian federal legislation which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International Convention on Biological Diversity. T ...

. Overall, the species faces multiple threats, including overharvest, pollution, loss of freshwater spawning habitat due to

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksdiversion Diversion, Diversions, or The Diversion may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Diversion'' (film), a 1980 British television film adapted into the 1987 movie ''Fatal Attraction'' * ''Diversion'' (play), a 1927 work by John Van Druten * '' T ...

and dam construction and

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Canadian spawning runs have been severely depleted compared to historic levels, while abrupt declines were reported in the Columbia, Fraser and Klinaklini rivers in 1994.

References

*
The First Sign of Spring: OOLIGAN

External links

FishBase entry for Thaleichthys pacificusPreserving the Tradition of T'lina Making
- Virtual Museum Exhibit of Kwakwaka'wakw eulachon oil production
''Central Coast First Nation preserves eulachon grease tradition as the fish returns to Bella Coola River''
Audrey McKinnon, CBC News, June 27, 2018, last opened Febr. 13, 2022
''Sinumwack: Bella Coola Oolichan Run''
(UBCIC, 1978)
''Watch a Fish Transform From Animal to Candle''
National Geographic on YouTube, last opened Febr. 13, 2022 {{Taxonbar, from=Q348917 First Nations culture in Canada Fish of the Pacific Ocean Native American culture Osmeridae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard Fish described in 1836 ESA threatened species