Brook trout | DE L'EAU À LA BOUCHE

Illustration couleur d'une truite mouchetée.

Tête trapue arrondie.

Corps comprimé recouvert de petites écailles et une grande queue légèrement fourchue.

Sa grande bouche découvre une collection de dents, tant sur les mâchoires que sur le palais et la langue. La mâchoire inférieure prend une forme de crochet en période de reproduction.

Dos vert foncé et décoré de nombreuses marbrures. La teinte de l’omble de fontaine devient argentée en eau salée. Les flancs portent une série de taches rouge orangé cerclées de bleu. Le mâle a un ventre orange vif.

Nageoires ventrales soulignées par deux bandes contrastées blanche et noire.

Nom

Omble de fontaine
Salvelinus fontinalis

Type

Pelagic fish

Autres appellations

Truite mouchetée, truite saumonée, truite de mer, truite des ruisseaux

Nom en cuisine

État de la ressource

Vulnerable

Saison de consommation

Frais à l’année grâce à l’aquaculture.

SIZE : From 15 cm to 32 cm, up to 55 cm.

LIFE EXPECTANCY : From 3 to 5 years; record of 15 years.

LIFE CYCLE : Sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years.

Spawning takes place between late summer and autumn, when temperatures drop below 10 ° C.

The number of eggs laid by a female depends on its weight. They are laid on a gravel bed that is well oxygenated by the current. The male fertilizes the eggs immediately, and the female covers them. The eggs will develop over winter. They hatch after 50 to 100 days, depending on the water temperature.

Teamwork

Brook trout live in family groups and work together to find food. The secret of this strong social bond? Chemical signals emitted by molecules present in the mucus covering each individual.

Mainly found in the fresh, well-oxygenated waters of streams, rivers, and lakes.

Its habitat varies throughout its life. It is an anadromous fish.

Photographie couleur d'un banc de truite mouchetée.

In eastern Quebec, where rivers present no obstacles, this fish can migrate to salt water to grow up for a time. It then returns to freshwater to reproduce.
Credit : Jean-Christophe Lemay, photo taken in the Rivière Neigette, Rimouski, in 2018.

Voir l’image en plein écran

PREY :

Invertebrates

Fishes

Larvaes

Insects

PREDATORS :

Eels

Pikes

Otters

Minks

MACHINES : Gillnets, fly fishing, line fishing.

REGULATIONS : Brook trout is mainly a sports fishing activity. A fishing permit is required.

The sea version of brook trout, also known as sea trout, is fished commercially on the Lower North Shore.

Quebec is home to some 700,000 brook trout anglers. More than half of the brook trout populations are over-fished.

Brook trout is one of the species targeted by aquaculture. It is mainly intended for the re-seeding of natural environments and the sports fishing areas.

BENEFITS : Brook trout is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and vitamin B12.

LET’S COOK : Its texture is semi-firm and tender. Orange-pink flesh with a delicate, refined flavor. Brook trout can be prepared in a variety of ways: smoked, dried, grilled, breaded etc.

OUR CULINARY ADVICE :

Cook quickly in the oven, at a high temperature to prevent the trout from drying out.
When pan-fried, it is well done when the flesh flakes easily with a fork.
Keep the head and bones to make fish stock for future chowders.