#brook char

The next entry in my fish painting series is the Brook Trout!

And the "Brook Trout" is not actually a trout at all! A member of the char genus "Salvelinus," it originates from Eastern North America but has been introduced to quite a few locations across the world. It is identified by the light-colored pattern along its back, the blue-ringed red spots along its sides, and the white edges along the bottoms of its fins.

Also known as Brook Trout. A Salmonid native to the eastern parts of of North America, but like the Brown Trout earlier, introduced to many other parts of the world. And also like the Brown Trout, now one of the worst invasive species in the world. Another similarity to the other fish is that some populations only migrate in fresh water, while other migrate to saltwater and return to freshwater to breed.

Hybridises with Brown Trout to create Tiger Trout, which are deliberately bred and released in some parts of the world (including New Zealand) because they're supposedly a better sports fish.

Once upon a time the Brook Trout did not have the colorful markings on their sides. When the great Manitou went to visit the land of the Iroquois, He grew hungry while on his long journey. One evening He stopped beside a pool surrounded by huge white pines and hemlocks that reached up to the sky. When he saw that it was full of beautiful trout, all as black and shiny as the night sky, he reached in and caught the largest fish. But when He looked closely at it He saw how beautiful and strong it was, and how graceful its brothers swam through the pool. He decided that it was better to let the fish live even though it meant He had to go hungry.

The trout swam away, but his sides became silvery where the Great Spirit had held it and it was covered with many colored spots and halos like the night sky as a mark of having been handled by the Manitou. The marks on the young parr even show where the fingers of the Manitou held it.

Because of this the Brook Trout was sacred to the Indians of the Six Nations and they would not catch or eat the Brook Trout.

(Story from http://www.denniskalma.com/river/brooktroutstory.html)