Abenaki Native peoples have fished the waters of the Champlain Valley for more than 10,000 years, with the earliest evidence of human presence dating to the time when the salty Champlain Sea connected the region to the Atlantic Ocean. The Abenaki homeland includes the Champlain Valley, where they settled along river shorelines and near deltas where food was plentiful, and they also traveled onto the deep waters of Lake Champlain by canoe. Lake Champlain's fisheries sustained Abenaki communities, with American eels, lake sturgeon, and landlocked Atlantic salmon especially important, though these species are far less plentiful today than before European settlers arrived. Eels were particularly important in winter because their meat could be smoked and preserved, and fish remains were also used as fertilizer alongside cultivated crops such as corn, beans, and squash so that little of the animal was wasted. Fish not eaten immediately were smoked for later use, though today Abenakis usually freeze their catch instead. Until the early 20th century, specialized fish traps complemented pronged spears, natural-fiber nets, and hooks originally made from bone, and although a few historic cultural practices remain distinct, modern-day Abenaki fishing largely resembles that of their European-American neighbors, with ice fishing still a common way to harvest fish.