| Common name | Tch'ilts |
| Language | Haida |
| Dialect | Massett |
| Type | Vernacular |
| Official trade name | No |
| Rank | 3 - (Other common name) |
| Country | Canada |
| Locality | 53N132W British Columbia coast |
| Ref. | Jones, R., 1999 |
| Life stage | product |
| Sex | females and males |
| Core | |
| 1st modifier | |
| 2nd modifier | |
| Remarks | Refers to the separately dried thin slices trimmed from sides of fillet; a fillet is prepared by splitting the fish along the backbone and leaving the belly intact. In the old days, fillets were preserved by a process of cold-smoking and drying in a smokehouse for about 10 days. Chum fillets were tied in bundles of 40 and could be kept in bent-wood cedar storage boxes for up to 1 year. The backbones were also smoke-dried. Heads were eaten fresh after boiling or aged in intertidal pits lined with seaweed and covered with rocks. Before eating, fillets could be rinsed in water and barbecued over an open fire or soaked in saltwater and then boiled. |