The omble knight is a Poisson of the family of the salmonidé s.
He lives permanently in the fresh water lakes in Europe.

The omble European knight would be originating in the Ancylus big lake which extended to the site from the the Baltic during the last glaciation. At the end of this one, there is about 11  000 years, it went up the rivers of Europe and colonized the big lakes progressively thaw, before being acclimatized to it and there sédentariser.

The Oquassa subspecies, present in the south of the Quebec (Canada), is insulated out of fresh water. It would be originating in the Mer of Champlain which covered part of the Québécois territory before the end of the era refrigerator.

The omble knight is the only one representing kind Salvelinus originating in Europe. He is regarded as the king of fish in the alpine lakes, but he is very sensitive to pollution.

• Origin of the name: Latin salmo .
• scientific Name: Salvelinus alpinus . Classify Ostéichthyen S, order Salmoniforme S, family Salmonidé S.
• Description: there exist several forms of omble knight but most common is that with white dress, but one finds some other varieties in the lakes of the north of Europe. This fish generally measures 60 cm for ten kilograms.
• Habitat: the lake sub-group is found in the lakes of mountain and the lakes of the countries of Northern Europe. The subspecies oquassa, lake, is present in Quebec (Canada). The sub-group anadrome, which goes down towards the sea in spring and goes up the rivers with the autumn to clear, has a circumpolar distribution. It is found in the north of America, Eurasia, Iceland, the Arctic Greenland and islands.
• Lifestyle: young person, it lives in group, but, older, it becomes solitary.
• Food: small molluscs, larvae of Insect S, Worm S, small crustacean S and remains of plants. Adult, it becomes primarily piscivorous.
• Reproduction: the laying takes place between 60 and 80 m of depth in November - December, in general, on rock or rocky funds called omblières.

In Europe

In France the omble knight is present in 130 lakes approximately, whereas in 1850, only three lakes had an endemic population, the Lac Léman, the Lac of Le Bourget and the Lac of Paladru. Introduced since the end of the 19th century starting from the only stock of the lake Léman, one can today meet this fish in lakes like the Lakes Chambeyron, to 2.841 m and 2.815 m, the lakes of crater of the Massif Central, like the Lac Pavin, the major stoppings of the Alps, and even with the islands Kerguelen in zone sub- the Antarctic.

In North America

The Oquassa subspecies, present in the south of Quebec (Canada), is isolated out of fresh water since the end from the glacial era. It constitutes a vestige of the populations anadromes which lived in the Mer of Champlain and the Atlantic Ocean, there is approximately 12  000 years and a great value presents on the genetic and patrimonial level. One finds it on the Coast-North, with the Saguenay, in Gaspésie, in the area of Quebec, in Mauricie, in Lanaudière and in Outaouais. The fish Lac ustres are smaller than the anadromes. This fish is on the list of the species likely to be indicated threatened or vulnerable.

The sub-group anadrome, largely present at the north of the parallel 55e, is not threatened.

Gastronomy

The gastronomes at the head place the flesh of the omble knight of wild fish. In the French big lakes subalpine, Léman, Le Bourget and Annecy, the omble knight is required at the same time by the fishermen amateurs and professionals, but in front of a request for increasing consumption, and since the Eighties, in Europe, a small local production in cattle-breeding farm, was set up in the mountainous areas, in order to have a cool water (< 10°C all the year), which made it possible the cattle-breeding farms to diversify their productions.

See too

• List of fish of the lakes and rivers used in kitchen

External bonds

• alpinus oquassa '' (Fr)