The article deals with the semiosis of the ichthyosphere as one of the most important resources of humankind. It shows the image signs that denote human vital activity in the two linguistic cultures (English and Russian), semiotics of phraseological units, proverbs and sayings of the English and Russian ethnos. The image parameters of actualization of the aquatic world in the human world by means of secondary nomination (semiotization) are determined in the article.