The Northern pikeminnow, Columbia River dace or colloquially Squawfish (''Ptychocheilus oregonensis'') is a large member of the

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

family,

Leuciscidae Leuciscidae is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes, formerly classified as a subfamily of the Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows. Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnow ...

. This predatory freshwater fish is native to northwestern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, ranging from the

Nass River The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland I ...

basin to the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

basin. A good deal of concern has been expressed regarding the impact northern pikeminnow populations may have on salmon in Columbia and

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

impoundments. Blecha, Peter. 2018. "Pikeminnow reward program remains strong". ''The Columbian''. https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/jul/25/pikeminnow-reward-program-remains-strong/. Accessed 8/21/18

Naming

Until 1999, when the

American Fisheries Society The American Fisheries Society (established 1870 in New York City), is the "world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources." It is a mem ...

officially changed the common name to pikeminnow, the four species of ''

Ptychocheilus ''Ptychocheilus'', the pikeminnows or squawfish, is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, chubs, Eurasian minnows and related species. These fishes are native to western North Am ...

'' were known as squawfish. The renaming effort was undertaken due to the word

squaw The English word squaw is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Scribi ...

being an ethnic slur for Native American women.

Behavior and habitat

Northern pikeminnows can live at least 11 years, reaching up to in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

and in weight. Female northern pikeminnow reach sexual maturity at about six years, males in three to five. A mature female can lay 30,000 eggs annually. Pikeminnow are adept predators, and in the Columbia and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

smolts Fish go through various life stages between fertilization and adulthood. The life of fish start as spawned eggs which hatch into immotile larvae. These larval hatchlings are not yet capable of feeding themselves and carry a yolk sac which p ...

comprise a large part of their diets. Their populations have flourished with the development of the Columbia River hydropower system. The reservoirs have provided excellent habitat for pikeminnow and given them an advantage over depressed salmon and

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...

populations. Data has been collected to suggest they can eat up to 650,000 salmon fry annually. The northern pikeminnow has been shown to consume terrestrial insects, benthic invertebrates, other fish, aquatic insects, and plant matter.

Relationship with people

Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program

While historically northern pikeminnow have not been of interest commercially nor to sport anglers, Washington and Oregon state fisheries agencies and the

Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of United States Congress, Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Col ...

have placed a bounty on them to reduce predation on scarce salmon stocks. A commercial fishery has developed based on that bounty. The current

International Game Fish Association The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current world record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers and anglers are careful to follow ...

all tackle world record for northern pikeminnow is from the Snake River near

Almota, Washington Almota () is a ghost town in Whitman County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place. Native American settlement The Almota area had been historically occupied by the Almotipu band of the Nez Perce people ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern pikeminnow Ptychocheilus Fish described in 1836