BULLETIN 158

Physical and

Economic Organization

of the Fisheries

of the District of Mackenzie,

Northwest Territories

BY SOL SINCLAIR, S. TRACHTENBERG, and M. L. BECKFORD /

•

FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA OTTAWA 1967 PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF THE

FISHERIES OF THE DISTRICT OF MACKENZIE,

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Bulletins of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada are designed to assess and interpret current knowledge in scientific fields pertinent to Canadian fisheries. Recent numbers in this series are listed at the back of this Bulletin.

Editor:

J. C. STEVENSON

Associate Editor: G. 1. PRITCHARD

Assistant Editor: R. H. WIGMORE

Production: R. L. MacIntyre

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The Board also publishes the Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada in annual volumes of monthly issues, an Annual Report, and a biennial Review of investigations. Fisheries Research Board of Canada publications are for sale by the Queen's Printer, Ottawa. Remittances must be in advance, payable in Canadian funds to the order of the Receiver General of Canada. Publications may be consulted at Board establishments located at Ottawa; Nanaimo and Vancouver, B.C.; Winnipeg, Man.; Ste. Anne de BeJIevue and Grande-Riviere, Que.; St. Andrews, N.B.; Halifax and Dartmouth, N.S.; EJIersJie, P.E.I.; and St. John's, Nfid. BULLETIN 158

Physical and Economic Organization of the

Fisheries of the District of Mackenzie�

Northwest Territories

By Sol Sinclair and S. Trachtenberg University of Manitoba, TVinnipeg, Man.

and M. L. Beckford Manitoba Department of 1�lines and Natural Resources, J17innipeg, Man.

THE FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA Ottawa 1967 © Crown Copyrights reserved

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ROGER DUHAMEL, F.R.S.C. Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery Ottawa, Canada 1967 CONTENTS

FOREWORD, 1

PREFACE, 3

ABSTRACT, 5

CHAPTER 1. HISTORY OF THE COMMERCIAL FISHERY, 7 Definition of the area, 7 Great Slave Lake fishery, 7 Buying companies, 9 Production in relation to quotas, 9 Production by species, 12 Numbers of fishermen, carriers, gear and equipment, 14 Expansion of the fishery to other lakes, 17

CHAPTER II. STRUCTURE OF THE FISHERY, 19 Summary, 19 The fishermen, 20 Region of residence, 21 Ethnic groups, 22 Company affiliation, 22 Species fished and distribution of licenses by lakes, 26 Turnover among fishermen, 27

CHAPTER III. OPERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, 31 Summary, 31 Data available, 32 Residence and ethnic groups of sellers, 33 Species and forms of fish sold, 38 Classification of sellers by gross sales, 40 Classes of sellers in relation to buying companies, 41 Distribution of sellers by volume class, 43 Turnover among sellers, 45 Landings and sales by size of crew, 46 CONTENTS - Concluded

CHAPTER IV. DOMESTIC FISHING, 49 Introduction, 49 Unorganized fishing, 50 Arm of Great Slave Lake (1946-54), 50 Hay River Region (Fall 1958), 51 R.C.M.P. fishing at Fort Rae (1940-59), 51 Snowdrift area (Fall 1961), 52 Rae trading area (1962), 52 Organized fishing, 53 General observations, 1959-64, 54

CHAPTER V. SPORT FISHING, 57 Summary, 57 Angling licenses, 58 Licensees, 58 Leading species and areas, 60 Competition with commercial fishing, 61 Economic importance, 61 Factors affecting further development, 61

APPENDIX A. Commercial fishing in the District of Keewatin, 65

APPENDIX B. Landings, landed values and quotas on lakes other than Great Slave, 1957-5 8 to 1963-64, 68

APPENDIX C. Sales slip specimen, 70 FOREWORD

During the Federal-Provincial Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Develop­ ment, held at Ottawa in January 1964, attention was directed, among other things, to amelioration of depressed incomes among fishermen engaged in the freshwater fisheries of Canada. The Conference recommended that the governments concerned collaborate in a study of the problem with particular reference to the reorganization of marketing of the products of these fisheries. Accordingly, a study group, repre­ sentative of the governments of the three Prairie Provinces and Ontario and of the federal government, was set up soon after the Conference and reported to the Federal-Provincial Prairie Fisheries Committee (of which, in the meantime, it had become a sub-committee) in the fall of that year.

The group's examination of the problem led to the conclusion that consoli­ dation of the export trade in freshwater fishery products, through the establishment of a (federally sponsored) central or regional export-sales agency, would be desirable. It was concluded also that, to ensure that any gains (in the form of higher prices) derived from marketing reorganization redound to the benefit of primary producers, it would be necessary to establish complementary organizations within each of the several provincial jurisdictions. In order to assess the feasibility of a plan of this kind in practice, a Commission of Enquiry was appointed, at the request of the FPPFC and under the auspices of the federal Department of Trade and Com­ merce, in the spring of 1965. This Commission reported to the Government of Canada in the fall of 1966. The conclusions confirm with some modification those of the earlier study.

In the Northwest Territories, the fishery resources are managed by the federal Department of Fisheries while the federal Department of Indian Affairs and North­ ern Development is involved in the general economic development of the area and in welfare policy affecting its residents. Responsibility for a reorganization of the local fishing industry, therefore, would fall upon these authorities. With the agree­ ment of the other agencies, the Department of Fisheries undertook to investigate the conditions in this industry with a view to determining an appropriate type of "complementary" marketing organization for the fisheries of the Northwest Terri­ tories. Consultants from the staff of the University of Manitoba were employed for this purpose and work on the project was started in October 1964. A preliminary report was submitted for the information of the FPPFC in May 1965. Following further work in the field during the summer of 1965, this final report was prepared.

The report is in two parts, of which the accompanying document is the first part. It describes the fisheries of Great Slave Lake and adjacent waters and presents an analysis of some of their economic aspects. The second part of the report con­ tains conclusions and recommendations and its distribution is to be restricted to officials associated with fishery management and development in the Northwest Territories.

The third author, Dr M. L. Beckford, was formerly with the Economics Service of the Department of Fisheries of Canada.

w. C. MACKENZIE, Director, Economics Service, Department of Fisheries of Canada.

2 PREFACE

This report describes the physical and economic organization of the fisheries in the District of Mackenzie from 1958 to 1964.1 In the study, emphasis was placed on the production of commercial fishermen and their relationships with fish buying companies in order to indicate ways and means whereby fishermen might secure increased returns from their efforts.

Great Slave Lake accounted for the major portion of commercial landings. Recent expansion of fishing to other lakes may be expected to contribute increas­ ingly to production. Since 1945 the quota for whitefish and trout from Great Slave Lake was approximated only once; for all other years, landings of these species were consistently below the quota.

An IBM 1620 computer was utilized in the analysis of license and sales data. License data were based on the period 1958-63; those for sales included the period from summer 1961 to winter 1963-64. There were slight discrepancies in the totals for certain computations, resulting from limitations of the computer memory capacity.

There have been changes in personnel and organization in the commercial fishery since this study was undertaken. Such changes are continuing and should be borne in mind in relating the authors' findings to current conditions.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance and cooperation received from the following: The Director, Assistant Director, and staff of the Economics Service, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Ottawa; the Area (now Regional) Director and Staff, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Winnipeg; the District Supervisor and staff, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Hay River; the manage­ ment and staff of fish buying companies, Hay River and Edmonton; the fishermen interviewed at Hay River; scientists of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Hay River and London, Ontario; officials of the then Indian Affairs Branch, De­ partment of Citizenship and Immigration, and of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Ottawa, Hay River and Fort Smith.

lA brief description of commercial fishing on Nueltin and Windy lakes in the District of Keewatin is included (Appendix A).

3

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMERCIAL FISHERY

Commercial fishing in the District of Mackenzie dates back to 1945; operations were then confined to Great Slave Lake, which continues to be the leading fishing locale. Total landings in 1945 were just over 1.5 million Ib (round weight). Of this total, trout represented about 1 million lb. By 1949 total landings of all species were 9.4 million Ib comprised as follows : whitefish, 5.75 million lb, trout, 3.25 million lb, inconnu and pike, 0.4 million lb. The catches of whitefish and trout approximated the quotas only in 1949; from then to 1957, landings of these two species declined. From 1957 to 1963, landings fluctuated between 5.75 and 6.24 mil­ lion lb.

In 1961 commercial fishing on a controlled basis was extended to other lakes. While landings from these lakes were appreciable in some years, the individual quotas for the years studied were not taken. This failure to realize the quotas on all lakes is an important factor in any program for developing the commercial fishery.

FISH BUYERS AND FISHERMEN

From 1945 to 1949-50 the number of fish buying companies increased from I to 13. After 1950 the number declined to 4 major buyers, not including the then Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources which was engaged in limited buying operations. The buying companies performed an important role in financing commercial fishing operations; they assisted fishermen in obtaining fishing craft, gear, and equipment, and provided advances in cash and in kind. In this way, each fisherman was committed to one or more of the companies.

During the period 1958-63 the number of commercial fishing licenses issued annually averaged about 400. More than 50% of the licensees were residents of the Northwest Terri­ tories; the remainder came primarily from the Prairie Provinces. Resident licensees were mostly Metis and Indians; nonresident licensees were mostly Metis and "Other" (mainly whites). The majority of licensed fishermen indicated their intention to fish on Great Slave Lake.

There was a large turnover from year to year among fishermen. This might have been due to factors such as the manner of recruitment by. and the nature of commitment to, the buying companies. Instability in the personnel of the industry is not conducive to its develop­ ment and growth; it could lead to difficulties in reorganizing the industry in order to achieve efficiency of operations and maximum returns.

Only about one-quarter to one-third of all the fishermen licensed annually operated their own or company-owned craft and equipment; the remainder were employed on a wage basis. The former group might be regarded as having performed a managerial function, and even among them, there was a high year-to-year turnover.

INVESTMENTS AND GROSS SALES

Year-by-year investment in fishing craft. carriers, gear, and equipment on Great Slave Lake showed much fluctuation during 1950-63 . The values and types of capital equipment varied with the season, due to differences in activity. For the winter seasons total investments were highest in 1954 and 1962 and for the other years there were fluctuations of varying

5 magnitudes. Total investments for the summer seasons were greater on the whole than those for the winter seasons, with the peaks in 1955, 1957, and 1963. There was an increase in num­ bers of fishing craft and carriers. However, in general, the numbers of men operating the various craft declined.

More than half of the fish sellers grossed only $2000 or less per season during both winter and summer seasons. More than half of this group had gross sales of less than $500. Less than 25% of all sellers had gross sales of $5000 or more. This group constituted only those who acted in a managerial capacity.

DOMESTIC AND SPORT FISHERIES

The domestic and sport fisheries contributed to the food supply and to the social and economic development of the area. In the domestic fishery, the needs of those individuals dependent upon fish for human and dog food were not adequately satisfied. Among the more urgent requirements were improvements in methods of fishing, handling, and preservation.

Recent years saw a substantial increase in sport fishing activity with consequent benefits in increasing employment and incomes in the Northwest Territories. With generally increasing disposable incomes, leisure, mobility, and accessibility of sites, this trend could continue at an even more accelerated pace. Such developments could create problems such as competition between commercial fishermen and anglers, difficulties in resource management in ensuring maximum sustained stocks of fish, and difficulty in implementing measures to ensure the maxi­ mum contribution of sport fishing to the local economy.

6 Chapter I

HISTORY OF THE COMMERCIAL FISHERY

DEFINITION OF THE AREA

The area includes that part of the District of Mackenzie, south of the Arctic Circle, open to commercial fishing (see map inside back cover). It comprises Great Slave Lake and Control Areas 1 to 6 as specified in the Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations. The area extends from the northern boundaries of Saskatche­ wan, Alberta, and British Columbia (600N), to 66°30'N for Control Areas 2 and 3, and to 650 30'N for Control Area 4. On the east, the region is bounded by the line of 103°40'W long between 60° and 65°30'N lat. The western boundary ex­ tends from 600N in a northwesterly direction along the boundary of the Yukon Territory between 124 oW and 128 oW (see map, inside back cover), thence north­ ward to 66°30'N.

With the exception of lakes reserved for domestic fishing or angling or both, all other lakes in the interior surrounding Great Slave Lake may be commercially fished. Thus, the area includes Great Slave Lake and surrounding lakes from which production is delivered to and assembled at Hay River or Yellowknife for shipment to United States and Canadian markets.

GREAT SLAVE LAKE FISHERY

The surface area of Great Slave Lake is reported as 10,980 square miles.2 This lake was first fished commercially in 1945, when the annual quota of whitefish and trout was 2 million lb (dressed weight). In 1946 and 1947 the quotas were 2.5 and 3.5 million lb, respectively.

Commercial fishing initially was carried out mainly by bottom-set gill nets of 5Yz inch mesh. During the first 10 years of commercial fishing about 36 million lb of whitefish and 24 million lb of trout were taken. Scientific investigations revealed that the average round weight of whitefish declined from 3.1 lb (1945) to 2.6 Ib (1954) and that of trout from 7.91b (1945) to 6.3 lb (1954).a The investigations

2Canada Year Book, 1963-64. Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa, 1964, p. 24. aw, A. Kennedy. The First Ten Years of Commercial Fishing on Great Slave Lake. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ottawa, No. 107, 1956, p. vii.

7 indicated that the catch per net dur:ng 1945-54 decreased by about 45 % for trout and 30% for whitefish. Because of extreme variability in both average size of fish and catch per net, it was difficult to determine whether or not there was a change in the fish population of the Lake.4

Kennedy (1956) expressed the view that commercial fishing on Great Slave Lake did not, and was not likely to, deplete the trout and whitefish populations.G In his opinion a higher rate of exploitation could be carried out indefinitely. However, the annual catches since that time indicate that the greater potential catch was not realized. After 1956, there was an actual decline in annual landings. During 1957-63 inclusive, annual landings averaged about 5.8 million lb, or about 1.5 million lb less than the annual average for the previous 7 years (Table 1).

TABLE 1. Commercial landings by species, (thousands of pounds, round weight), Great Slave Lake, 1945-63."

Grand Total whitefish Year Whitefish Trout Inconnu Pike Pickerel Others!> total and trout ----.�- 1945 461 977 88 1526" 1438 (94)<1 1946 897 1377 113 2387c 2274 (95) 1947 968 1445 85 0.5 0.2 2499 24 13 (97) 1948 2025 1581 224 4 3834e 3606 (94) 1949 5729 3234 359 39 936lf 8963 (96) 1950 5175 2767 272 112 3 0.2 8329 7942 (95) 1951 5213 2752 321 72 3 3 8364 7965 (95) 1952 3659 2962 197 73 7 6898 6621 (96) 1953 4377 2407 201 69 3 7057 6784 (96) 1954 3938 2368 171 64 2 6543 6306 (96) 1955 4342 2887 165 66 12 7472 7229 (97) 1956 4060 2643 167 60 6930 6703 (97) 1957 4393 1974 214 92 2 6675 6367 (95) 1958 3378 2007 217 156 5758 5385 (94) 1959 3401 1702 311 250 5664 5103 (90) 1960 3789 1095 171 24 1 12 17 5325 4884 (92) 1961 3877 1061 214 230 22 12 5416 4938 (91) 1962 4493 1171 276 270 14 6224 5664 (91 ) 5190 (89) 1963 4492 698 344 305 14 5853 of Fish- nComputed from Commercial Fisheries Reports. District Supervisor, Department the totals for eries of Canada, District No. 3, Hay River. N.W.T. The annual landings are of the winter sea- the winter and summer seasons with the year calculated from the beginning son. All landings were converted to round weights on the basis of the conversion factors pub- annual reports. lished in Fisheries Statistics of Canada, Dominion Bureau of Statistics. bIncludes mullets, tulibee, etc. "Summer fishing only. dPer cent of grand total. "Winter fishing only. fIncludes only Areas 1, 2, and 3.

4See reference cited in footnote 3. "See p. 45 of reference cited in footnote 3.

8 The typical fishing year comprised a winter season (December-March) and a summer season (May-September).

BUYING COMPANIES

McInnes Products Corporation Ltd. was the first fishing company to operate in the area. In 1945, the company established a fishing camp off Gros Cap, where catches were frozen and transported by refrigerated barges to the railhead at Waterways, Alta. McInnes experimented with air transportation but this proved expensive and was discontinued.

Completion of the Mackenzie Highway in 1948, linking Hay River with Grimshaw, Alta., facilitated expansion of the industry and accelerated establishment of other fishing companies at Hay River. Truck transportation became important and has remained the major means of fish shipment to outside markets.

By 1949-50 there were 13 buying companies in operation. In 1964, only four were operative, viz. W. R. Menzies (1946), Alaska Fisheries (1947 ), Kucher and Trefiak Fisheries (1947), Carter Fisheries (1949 ).(i Others that have operated either intermittently or continuously over a period are: 7

Ruckman Fisheries (1946) Dussault Fisheries (1949 ) Clark Fisheries (1947) Gerhard Fisheries (1949 ) Cole's Fisheries (1947) Inland Fisheries (1949 ) Gateway Fisheries (1947 ) Damgaard Fisheries (1950) Western Fisheries (1947) Slave Lake Fisheries (1950) Big Four Fisheries (1949 ) Bulmer Fisheries (1953) .

PRODUCTION IN RELATION TO QUOTAS

With greater exploitation of the resource, the annual quota for whitefish and trout was increased in 1949-50 to 9 million lb (round weight). To prevent over­ fishing of certain areas the lake was divided into four Water Areas.s Figure 1 shows the quotas for 1965-66, by areas. During 1963-64 Area 1 was subdivided into east and west to encourage sustained coverage of the entire area, since fishermen for­ merly concentrated only on the Deep Bay section. Area 1 East was closed to summer fishing and had a winter quota of 800,000 lb while Area 1 West had a summer quota of 400,000 lb and was closed to winter fishing.9 (For 1965-66 these quotas were revised. Area 1 East has summer and winter quotas of 400,000 lb each

6The numbers in parentheses indicate year of establishment. 7Commercial Fishery Reports, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Winnipeg office files, 1945-63. 8Hereafter referred to as Areas. 9Great Slave Lake Fishing Quota Order pursuant to Northwest Territories Fishery Regu­ lations, SOR/63-300. Canada Gazette. Part II, Vol. 97, No. 16, August 28, 1963.

9 \

>-' o \

�: CLOSED TO .� \ COMMERCIAL FISHING W: WINHR QUOTA IN THOUSAND LB S : SUMMeR QUOTA IN THOUSAND L8 MILES 14 2� 32 1,.0

FIG. 1. Water areas on Great Slave Lake with seasonal quotas. while Area 1 West is closed to summer fishing but has a winter quota of 400,000 lb.)l°

V) q 2 Z :::> <:> CL .... 0

V) 2: S!

1:

O��q--L--5�/--L--5=3--L--5=5�L--5�7��-5�9��-7.61--��6J

FIG. 2. Commercial landings by water areas, for winter seasons, 1949-63.

FIG. 3. Commercial landings by water areas, for summer seasons, 1949-63.

Immediately after enforcement of area regulations, the winter landings in Area 1 were higher than those in the other areas, but they fell sharply until 1951 (Fig. 2). After a brief leveling-off period, the falling trend in this area continued and from 1956 production fluctuated between 0.7 and 0.4 million lb. With the decline in landings from Area 1, Area 2 became the largest winter producer. Winter produc­ tion in Area 3 was the most erratic. After 1951, landings in Area 4 fluctuated be­ tween 0. 1 and 0.3 million lb.

lOCentral Area Office Consolidation of the Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations established by P. C. 1954-1926 as amended, Winnipeg, Man., October 9, 1964.

11 From 1949 to 1963 the highest summer landings were reported in Area 3 (Fig. 3). Landings in Area 2 were second highest during the first 2 years but were surpassed by those in Area 4 during the two succeeding years. During the summers of 1953-57 landings in Areas 2 and 4 were fairly stable and about equal. After 1959, landings in Area 2 were around 1 million lb. From 1960 to 1963, production in Area 4 decreased steadily to its lowest point since 1950. During 1951-62 Area 1 was consistently the lowest summer producer.

Figure 4 indicates that the winter quotas in Area 1 were usually taken. The same was true for Area 2 during 1950-57, after which landings declined until 1960. After that year production recovered gradually and almost reached the quota in 1963. In Area 3 production was below the quota except for 1950 and 1953. Land­ ings in Area 4 were consistently much below the quota of 1 million lb except for 1951, when the quota was taken.

2 2 � � AREA ! ���-=-!--� C>

V")

� __ __ n � � � __ <_� ______����3 O�!!!·�

FIG. 4. Landings of whitefish and trout compared with quotas, by water areas, winter seasons.

Summer production of whitefish and trout in Area 1 equalled the quota, except in 1950 (Fig. 5). In the other three areas, landings usually fell short of their res­ pective quotas, particularly in Areas 3 and 4.

PRODUCTION BY SPECIES

From 1945 to 1963, whitefish and trout accounted for over 90% of annual landings of all species on Great Slave Lake (Table 1). Landings during the sum­ mers were generally higher than those for the winters (Fig. 6). The highest summer production was reported in 1955. Winter landings were highest in 1949, fluctuated downward to 1954, and showed little change thereafter. Whitefish production was at a high of 5.7 million lb in 1949, after which it declined sharply until 1952

12 AREA I

...::------

�"51 53 55 "�57 59 61 63 FIG. 5. Landings of whitefish and trout compared with quotas, by water areas, summer seasons.

.. "-. 8 • . - ...""""\ .

'\.... __ . . -....• •. -.../.. . r--... • .. ". WINTER £ SUMMER • ·'-2.:ASONS COMBINED ,./'...... -... _ . ./ . /' .... / - / SUMMER SEASONS ONLY / --"., � ..... ,, , .... ------....-.... WINTE R SEASONS ONt Y 2

FIG. 6. Landings by seasons, Great Slave Lake.

(Fig. 7). Between 1952-57 annual production of this species fluctuated around 4 million lb but beginning in 1959 a rising trend became apparent. The years of high­ est trout production were 1949, 1952, and 1955. From 1955 to 1963 there was an overall decline in landings. The trend in trout production after 1958 was opposite to that of whitefish.

Inconnu, pike, and pickerel were of minor significance in terms of quantities landed and averaged about 6% of total annual landings. Beginning in 1957, how­ ever, there was an observable increase in the production of these species.

13 . . ...--.. - •. QUOTA FOR WHITEFrSH& TROUT . . --...... --. -... --. , """"-. . _ . _ . . _ ... - ...... , , , ----­ , '" /'...... ,----...... // ...... / -'"\. , WHITEFISH & TROUT ''-_'':OMSINED ///".'''' -----""

. _ -- ,. ._.---...... --. .--... . 2 - "-'­ .--... .o.!:!.I .-...... !! .-...... INCONNU 8. OTHERS . - -- ..._ .. . - . - .. ------._--- - .. _ .... - OL_-L__ �� __ -L ...__ L__L _ -__ �� .. - __.... _L __ L_� __ �� �__ 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63

FIG. 7. Landings by main species.

4

WHITEFISH � TROUT COMBINED

..• ...... _ . . / . , ...... /

./"... ." -'-'-'-.-.-.-._ TROUT -- --- O L--L__ �� �__ __ L-_L __ �� '-'-__ _L __ ' L_�� __ __ �� H 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 FIG. 8. Landings of whitefish and trout, winter seasons.

The annual quota for whitefish and trout was approximated only in 1949. For the winter seasons the quota was exceeded in 1949-50 (Fig. 8). Quotas were never reached during summer seasons (Fig. 9). Landings of whitefish were markedly greater than those for trout during the winter seasons. During the summers until 1955 more trout than whitefish was generally taken. After 1955, summer produc­ tion of whitefish increased while that of trout decreased.

NUMBERS OF FISHERMEN, CARRIERS, GEAR, AND EQUIPMENT

During the winter seasons, 1951-63, the number of fishermen decreased from a high of 404 in 1955 to a low of 150 in 1961 (Table 2). The number of men on

14 6 OUOTA fOR WHITEFISH & TROUT r------""' / �-.../ � 5 -",,," A . / "''-'''"\. i \ ... /'. ..'" / ... J V) \ WHITE fiSH & TROUT � '" " COMBINED <: ...... ",V / � ...... A '" .. . . /. ." " <:> ...... 0.. -' u.. <:> WHI IE F15H V) <: 3 z �

FIG. 9. Landings of whitefish and trout, summer seasons.

carriers also decreased, from a high of 107 in 1951 to a low of 43 in 1961. The number of carriers increased to 128 in 1955, when estimated investment in carriers was $185,000. Subsequently, the number of carriers declined to 47 in 1961, when estimated investment was $116,000. Total estimated investment in carriers, gear,

TABLE 2. Numbers of men and carriers, and estimated investment, winter seasons, Great Slave Lake, 195 1-63." ---.. _.. Carriersb Investment ------� Estimated in gear and Total Year Fishermen No. Men investment equipment investment -----.---- ($'000) ($'000) ($'000) 1951 393 61 107 153 141 295 1952 255 42 84 151 102 253 1953 304 41 79 141 120 261 1954 399 90 101 245 223 469 1955 404 128 91 185 196 381 1956 113 98 180 189 369 1957 101 79 210 57 267 1958 276 74 74 137 178 315 1959 262 82 70 226 147 373 1960 159 53 47 150 84 234 1961 150 47 43 116 74 190 1962 232 83 83 287 121 407 1963 205 62' 61' 192' 126 318'

"Inland Fisheries Statistics, Schedule lB. Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa, 1948- 63 ; Report on men, boats, etc. by seasons. Department of Fisheries of Canada, 1959-63. bIncIudes all vehicles engaged in fish collection. cThese figures compare with those reported by the Economics Service, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Ottawa, as fo1Iows : 72, 71. 197, and 323.

15 and equipment followed a similar pattern and declined from a high of $469,000 in 1954 to a low of $190,000 in 1961.

During the summer seasons the number of fishing craft increased from a low of 39 in 1953 to a high of 95 in 1963 (Table 3). Investment in fishingcraft ranged from $70,000 in 1953 to $203,000 in 1963. From 1951 to 1956 there were wide fluctuations in the number of men on fishing craft. During 1956-63 these fluctua­ tions were less marked. With the exception of 1952 and 1957 the numbers of carriers employed during the summers showed some stability from 1951 to 1963. Fluctuation in the number of men on carriers was more erratic than for the number of carriers.

TABLE 3. Numbers of men, fishing craft and carriers. and estimated investments, summer seasons, Great Slave Lake, 195 1-63."

Fishing crafth Carriers ------��--� Investment Estimated Estimated in gear and Total Year No. Men investment No. Men investment equipment investment

��------.------��------($ '000) ($'000) ($'0 00) ($'000 ) 1951 62 171 J03 J2 41 J08 69 280 1952 53 J48 96 8 28 191 77 364 1953 39 110 70 12 34 165 78 3J3 1954 51 149 102 J2 26 210 138 450 1955 68 283 J31 13 29 230 212 573 1956 71 209 102 13 30 192 172 465 1957 79 215 103" 25 51c 270 166 539c 1958<1 64 213 80 J4 34 187 130 397 1959 70 196 158 17 45 216 111 485 1960 74 166 175 J3 35 170 153 498 1961 65 160 131 11 26 150 119 40 1 1962 94 203 137 16 41 195 142 474 1963 95 197 203 14 49 238 113 554

"InJand Fisheries Statistics, Schedule 1 B, Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Ottawa, 1948- 63; Report on men. boats, etc .. Department of Fisheries of Canada, 1959-63 . hlncIudes gasoline boats, skiffs, canoes, outboard motors. cThese figures compare with those reported by the Economics Service, Department of Fisheries, Ottawa. as follows : 104. 47, and 439. dThe respective figures for all items listed for this year by the Economics Service are as follows: 66. 221,94, 19, 42, 247, 130, and 47 1.

Investment in summer carriers showed an overall increase during the period. However, there were considerable fluctuations, with a low of $108,000 in 1951 and a high of $270,000 in 1957. Investment in gear and equipment was highest, at $212,000, in 1955, decreasing to $113,000 in 1963. Total investment in fishing craft, carriers, gear, and equipment increased considerably over the period.

16 EXPANSION OF THE FISHERY TO OTHER LAKES

Several factors contributed to the controlled expansion of commercial fishing to lakes surrounding Great Slave Lake and to designated lakes in the District of Keewatin. Among these were increased knowledge of the fish population acquired through the scientific surveys of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, and improvements in transportation facilities. These improvements included expanded utilization of air transport, opening of a road linking Hay River and Yellowknife, and construction of the Great Slave Lake railway from Grimshaw, Alta., to Hay River, with a branch line to Pine Point.

The major objectives of the expansion program were:

• to permit commercial harvesting of unexploited fish stocks under adequate safeguards for controlled management;

• to protect the domestic food (fish) supply for native inhabitants;

• to protect sport fishing, thereby assisting the growth of tourism;

• to promote economic growth of the Northwest Territories.ll

The program became effective in December, 1961. Prior to this date, fishing on some of the lakes was carried out in an "uncontrolled" manner.

The District of Mackenzie, excluding Great Slave Lake, was divided into six control areas. The lakes were classed according to the nature of exploitation. Some lakes were reserved for sport and domestic fishing, others for both commercial fishing and experimental research, and the remainder for commercial fishing. Control Areas 2 and 5 were opened in 1962-63. The opening of Control Areas 3 and 6 was planned for 1964-65, while for Control Areas 1 and 4 it was delayed until 1966-67.

Commercial lakes in Control Areas 1 to 6 were designated for fishing on a six-year cycle, i.e. 2 years "open" and 4 years "closed." The experimental-com­ mercial lakes were assigned a 4-year cycle : 2 years "open" and 2 years "closed," commercial fishing being permitted only during summer seasons; it was possible to extend, if necessary, the open period on these lakes, as determined by research findings and other circumstances.

Quotas were developed for all lakes other than those reserved for domestic food requirements. They were determined on the basis of l/z-lb whitefish and trout (round weight) annually, per acre of water surface, multiplied by the number of years in the cycle. For example, a lake with an area of 200 square miles (128,000

llExpansion of the Fisheries in the Northwest Territories, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Ottawa, p. 8.

17 acres), open for 2 years and closed for 4, was assigned an annual quota of 384,000 lb, i.e.

1 6 128,000 x 384,000 lb. 2 1 x 1

Gill nets with 51/2 inch (minimum) stretched mesh were specified on commer­ cial lakes, except that a mesh of 41,-2 inches could be used on pickerel lakes. Fish­ ing companies were permitted to take test-fish (under supervision) prior to official opening of commercial lakes. This provision enabled them to familiarize themselves with existing conditions and to plan for necessary investments and expenditures.

TABLE 4. Commercial landings (thousands of pounds) by species for lakes other than Great Slave, 1958-63."

No. of Total whitefish Year lakes fished Whitefish Trout Pike Pickerel Total and trout 1958 2 4 119 125 5 (4)b 1959 4 36 56 13 90 195 92 (47) 1960 9 14 22 10 24 1 287 36 (13 ) 1961 8 55 55 16 98 224 110 (49) 1962 8 147 169 0.2 17 333 316 (95) 1963 6 204 167 2 106 479 371 (77) ------.---�-- "Summary of Appendix B. bPercentage of total.

Landings, landed values, and quotas, by seasons, for each of the lakes other than Great Slave are presented in Appendix B, which is summarized by species in Table 4. As the expansion proceeded and more lakes were opened to commercial fishing, the total catch increased. The most noteworthy increase was in whitefish and trout although the landings of pickerel exceeded those on Great Slave Lake,12

12In 1966 the Control Area system was rescinded and an open-closed cycle was applied to individual lakes except Great Slave where commercial fishing is permitted. For each lake commercial fishing will be permitted on the basis of a 2-year "open" followed by a 4-year "closed" period. Each lake will be closed whenever the quota is taken or at the end of 2 years, whichever is first. The quota of 3 lb round weight of whitefish and trout per acre of water surface is based on the total cycle of 6 years multiplied by the annual increment of l/z lb/acre. The new provisions apply to those portions of the Territories formerly covered by the Control Areas 1-8. Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations as amended by P.C. 1966-1001. SOR/66-255. The Canada Gazette. Part II. Vol. 100. No. 12. June 22. 1966, and Fisheries in the Northwest Territories. Department of Fisheries of Canada, Ottawa.

18 Chapter II

STRUCTURE OF THE FISHERY

SUMMARY

From 1958 to 1963, Great Slave Lake was the main commercial fish producer in the District of Mackenzie. Total production of whitefish and trout was much higher than for other species in each of the 6 years. (As indicated in Chapter I, the number of major buying companies declined from 13 in 1949 to 4 in 1963, but the total investment in fishing craft, carriers, gear, and equipment tended to increase. )

Turnover in licensed fi.shermen was very high, 62 % being licensed for only 1 year. Only 4 % of the licensees were licensed for all 6 years and, of these (53), 48 were residents of the Territories: 21 Metis, 11 Indians, and 16 "Other" (main­ ly whites). The annual total number of fishing licenses varied less than 13%. Since individual fishermen could obtain more than one license during any one season or year, the total number of licenses for any one year exceeded the total number of licensees. The latter varied annually by less than 2 % .

The greater percentage of fishermen from year to year were residents of the Territories: from 57% in 1958 to 69% in both 1962 and 1963. Migrant fishermen come mainly from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, in that order of numeri­ cal importance. The percentage which came from Saskatchewan and Alberta de­ creased, and that from Manitoba was nearly constant.

Metis and Indians were the largest groups of resident licensees. Resident "Other" fishermen increased somewhat during the period. Nonresidents comprised about 33 % of all fishermen licensed annually. Metis and "Other" were the only important nonresident groups. At least 80% of all Indians licensed were residents of the Territories. Of the nonresident Indians, the largest percentage (about 17) come from Manitoba. Over the years the percentages of licensees who were non­ resident Metis and nonresident "Other" fishermen declined.

In 1963 the four buying companies had commitments to deal with 80-90% of the fishermen. The percentage of licensees that were not committed to sell to particular companies declined drastically from 1961 to 1963. Toward the end of the period, commercial fishing in the Mackenzie River Delta was sponsored by the then

19 Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. A larger percentage of resident than of nonresident Indian fishermen made commitments with buying companies, and a lower percentage of resident than of nonresident Metis. For "Other" fishermen, commitments from both residents and nonresidents declined. In all ethnic groups, both resident and nonresident fishermen shifted their commit­ ment markedly from company to company. Of the fishermen committed to any one company, not more than 18% were committed to it for 2 of the 6 years. Of the licensees, 90% or more applied to fish for whitefish and trout. The number who in­ tended to fish for pickerel decreased drastically during 196 1-63.

Great Slave Lake accounted for an average of more than 80% of the fishing licenses issued during the 6 years and for a similar percentage of the licensees in the various ethnic groups, both resident and nonresident. Tathlina and Kakisa lakes were the only others that had licenses issued for several years. For lakes other than these three, small numbers of licenses were issued. No nonresidents sought licenses to fish on lakes Kakisa and Tathlina.

THE FISHERMEN

Information on fishermen was obtained from an analysis of commercial fishing licenses issued to individuals during 1958-63. The objective was to determine regions of residence by ethnic groups of licensees, the lakes and species they in­ tended to fish, the companies to which they intended to be committed, and other aspects of their activities.

The annual total numbers of licenses presented below for 1958-60 are for summer, winter, and both seasons; for 1961-63 the annual totals are the numbers issued from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.

Commercial fishermen were classified on the basis of ethnic origin as Metis, Treaty Indians, and "Other" (predominantly white). A further classification of fishermen was made on the basis of residence. By regulation, a resident is defined as a fishermanwho has resided continuously in the Northwest Territories for at least 6 months prior to his application for a commercial fishing license.

As shown below, fishermen were issued a total of 2777 commercial licenses during 1958-63. The annual totals ranged from a high of 504 in 1959 to a low of 426 in 1961.

1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 No. of licenses 452 504 47 1 426 462 462 Change between years, % + 12 -6 -10 +8 0

Under the regulations fishermen could obtain more than one license during a given year (e.g. one for the winter and one for the summer fishery). Consequently,

20 the annual numbers of licenses exceeded the total number of licensees. There were only slight changes in the annual totals of licensed fishermen who operated during the 6 years (Table 5). In each of the years there were more than 400 fishermen licensed.

TABLE 5. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed commercial fishermen by region of residence, 1958-63.11

Region of residence 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963

Northwest Territories 245 269 245 219 305 302 (57) (64) (58) (53) (69) (69) Alberta 64 43 47 59 42 29 (15) (10) (11) (15) (9) (6) Saskatchewan 41 27 43 59 28 26 (10) (7) (10) (15) (7) (6) Manitoba 72 77 88 72 65 74 (17) (18) (21 ) (17) (15) (17) British Columbia 1 0 2 1 2 3 ( <0.5) (0) ( <0.5) ( <0.5) «0.5 ) (I) Othersh 4 5 1 0 2 3 (1) (1) «0.5) (0) «0.5) (1) Total :c 427 42 1 426 410 444 437 ( 100) ( 100) ( 100) (100) (100) (100) ------�------�- ---_.---_.. - nComputed. bPrimarily northwestern Ontario. cNumbers of licensed commercial fishermen differ from numbers of commercial fishing licenses issued annually because some fishermen obtained both winter and summer fishing licenses.

REGION OF RESIDENCE

The majority of fishermen were residents of the Northwest Territories (Table 5). At no time was the proportion less than 50% of the annual total; during the last 2 years this rose to 69% . Migrant fishermen came mainly from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, in that order of numerical importance. There were only a few fishermen from British Columbia and Northern Ontario. Increased partici­ pation by residents of the Territories seemed to have occurred at a time when parti­ cipation by residents of Saskatchewan and Alberta was decreasing. A possible explanation of this trend could be that some of the fishermen from Saskatchewan and Alberta became qualified as residents of the Territories in order to be eligible for lower license fees, as specified by regulations. The numbers from Manitoba fluctuatedvery narrowly around the 6-year average of 74 fishermen.

Of resident fishermen, Metis and Indians were by far the most numerous (Table 6). Each was more numerous than the other in 3 of the 6 years. The num­ bers of resident "Other" fishermen were fairly constant throughout the period, averaging about 68 annually.

21 TABLE 6. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed fishermen by residential status and ethnic group, 1958-63."

Ethnic group 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 Resident Metis 111 92 85 85 126 104 (26) (22) (20) (21 ) (28) (24) Resident Indians 74 105 93 67 105 129 (17) (25) (22) (16) (24) (29) Resident Otherb 60 72 67 67 74 69 (14 ) (17) (16) (16) (17) (16) Total: 245 269 245 219 305 302 (57) (64) (58) (53) (69) (69) Nonresident Metis 94 70 79 126 79 67 (22) ( 17) (18) (31 ) ( 18) (15 ) Nonresident Indians 19 22 47 15 22 29 (5) (5) (11 ) (4) (5) (7) Nonresident Otherb 69 60 55 50 38 39 (16) (14 ) (13 ) (12) (8) (9) Total: 182 152 181 191 139 135 (43 ) (36) (42) (47) (31 ) (31 ) Grand total: 427 421 426 410 444 437 ( 100) ( 100) (l00) ( 100) (100) (100)

aComputed. bPredominantly white.

Nonresidents represented Y3 to lh of all licensed fishermen. Metis, followed by "Other," were the most numerous groups. Nonresident Indians constituted only about 5 % of the total number.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Table 7 presents further evidence that the largest number of fishermen were resident in the Territories and that nonresidents came primarily from the Prairie Provinces.

Of all Indians licensed annually for commercial fishing, except in 1960, 80% or more were resident in the Territories. Only a very small proportion came from the various provinces with the exception of Manitoba, from which an average of about 17% of the total number of Indians originated. A somewhat similar situation existed for Metis and "Other." Although the proportions of nonresident Metis and "Other" fluctuated, they generally tended to decline for all the provinces. The decline in the proportions of nonresident "Other" was particularly marked in the case of Alberta and Saskatchewan and to a lesser extent for Manitoba.

COMPANY AFFILIATION

In completing his application for a fishing license, the applicant indicated the company to which he intended to deliver his catch. This was interpreted as his

22 TABLE 7. Percentages of licensed fishermen in each of the three ethnic groups that came from the various regions, 1958-63.a

Metis Indians Otherb · Region of residence '58 '59 '60 '6 1 ;62� '58 '59 '60 '6 1 '62 '63 '58 '59 '60 '6 1 '62 '63 Northwest Territories 54 57 52 40 62 61 80 83 67 82 83 82 46 54 55 57 66 64 Alberta 16 14 16 18 14 11 3 1 23 14 15 19 13 9 Saskatchewan 11 11 18 23 11 II 4 2 10 7 8 9 4 6 N \j.) Manitoba 18 17 14 19 13 16 13 15 30 18 17 17 19 23 19 14 14 17 British Columbia 2 2 2 Otherc I 2 2 Total: 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

"Computed. bPredominantly white. "Mainly northwestern Ontario. intended commitment to a particular buying company. During the 6 years, 4 buying companies operated on a continuing basis. In 1963 the then Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources began sponsoring commercial fishing in the Mackenzie River Delta ("Company" 5). In addition to the four buying companies, several other buyers operated in the fishery until 1960. After 1960, with the exception of an occasional fisherman, or fish peddler, buying fish on his own account, the four major companies were the chief buyers. Some licenses when issued were marked "Independent," no company being specified. These were interpreted as a preference of fishermen to sell fish independently rather than be committed to companies. This group of fishermen is designated in the tables as Company 6, or Independents.

The four major companies had nearly 80% of all fishermen committed to them during 1958-60 and 90% or more during 196 1-63 (Table 8). No one company was clearly preferred as a buyer. Especially during the earlier years, there were

TABLE 8. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed fishermen committed an- nually to the various buying companies, 1958-63.n

Buying companyb 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 ------83 65 63 105 119 105 (20) (15) (15) (26) (27) (24) 2 86 103 135 114 99 96 (20) (24) (32 ) (28) (22) (22) 3 70 41 40 82 114 96 (16) (10) (9) (20) (26) (22) 4 99 134 106 83 91 96 (23) (32) (25) (20) (20) (22) 5 0 0 0 0 0 26 (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (6) 6 89 78 82 26 21 18 (21) (19) (19) (6) (5) (4) Total: 427 42 1 426 410 444 437 ( 100) ( 100) (100) ( 100) (100) (100)

"Computed. bThe first four buying companies are the major buyers; the fifth is the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources and the sixth is the Independents, or the group of fishermen Who were not committed to any buying company. noticeable fluctuations in the percentage of fishermen committed to any one com­ pany. Lower percentages of resident than of nonresident Metis and "Other" were committed annually to the companies, and higher percentages of resident than of nonresident Indians (Table 9). Companies 1, 2, and 3 seemed to attract the highest percentages of resident Metis in the later years, and Companies 1 and 4 the highest percentages of both resident and nonresident Indians. About one-third of all resident

24 "Other" fishermen were attracted annually to Company 2. Companies 1 and 3 seemed to attract the highest percentages of nonresident "Other" fishermen in the later years.

TABLE 9. Percentages of licensed fishermen committed annually to the various buying com- panies, according to residential status and ethnic group, 1958-63.a

Buying Residents Nonresidents Company ------.__ .. --1958.. 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963

Metis 1 17 18 13 24 26 24 22 10 19 26 20 14 2 29 33 44 34 32 31 18 19 33 28 13 22 3 15 5 6 18 25 26 26 31 20 24 37 34 4 14 32 28 12 11 17 27 30 18 22 29 30 5 6 25 12 9 12 6 2 7 10 10 Total: 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Per cent of all companies 45 34 35 38 41 34 52 46 44 66 57 50

Indians 19 6 9 18 35 28 37 32 13 33 23 38 2 6 20 24 22 18 12 11 4 I 3 4 17 17 15 5 6 20 14 17 4 46 42 34 37 22 23 5 4 23 47 59 45 5 16 6 28 28 32 6 8 6 53 64 47 Total : 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Per cent of all companies 30 39 38 31 35 43 10 15 26 8 16 21 Other!> 13 15 17 24 16 19 20 28 22 38 42 29 2 33 32 40 33 31 39 19 27 33 26 16 15 3 10 3 3 15 30 8 31 13 24 24 26 41 4 22 39 25 13 16 13 16 19 14 8 16 15 5 8 6 22 11 15 15 7 13 14 13 7 4 Total: 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 ]00 100 100 100 100 Per cent of all companies 25 27 27 3] 24 23 38 39 30 26 27 29 aComputed. bPredominantly white.

For the four major buying companies the number of fishermen committed to an individual company ranged from 273 to 296 (Table 10). There was a high turnover in personnel committed to buyers. For each company, as the number of years licensed increased, the percentage of total fishermen associated with it, tended to decrease. Of the fishermen committed to each buyer, fewer than 20% were

25 licensed for more than 1 year. (But Company 5, the Northern Affairs operation, had only been under way for 2 years.) Excepting Companies 3 and 4, each buying company had more resident than nonresident fishermen committed to it (Table 11).

TABLE 10. Percentages of licensed fishermen committed to the various buying companies, by number of years licensed, 1958-63.u

Total No. of years licensed no. of Buying company fishermen 2 3 4 5 6 Total I 296 57 16 10 7 6 4 100 2 275 53 16 10 9 5 7 100 3 273 60 17 9 4 6 4 100 4 293 59 18 8 5 7 3 100 5 26 92 8 100 6 189 80 11 3 2 2 2 100 All companies: 1352 61 16 8 6 5 4 100

nComputed.

Metis were the largest ethnic group associated with the major companies (Table 11). Company 3 attracted the largest number. More of the nonresident Metis were associated with Companies 3 and 4 than with the other companies. For Companies 2, 5, and 6 there were more resident than nonresident Metis. There were more resident than nonresident Indians for all companies. Due to the unique nature of the operations of Companies 5 and 6, the largest group of their fishermen were resident Indians. Of "Other" fishermen, Company 2 had more residents than any of the other companies; nonresidents were mostly associated with Companies 1 and 3.

SPECIES FISHED AND DISTRIBUTION OF LICENSES BY LAKES

Whitefish, trout, and pickerel were the species mostly sought (Table 12). In each year except 1960, 90% or more of the fishermen expressed their intention to

TABLE 11. Numbers of licensed fishermen committed to the various buying companies by ethnic group and residential status, 1958-63.n

Metis Indians Other Buying company R. N. T. R. N. T. R. N. T. 57 59 116 67 25 92 32 56 88 2 76 55 131 39 3 42 61 41 102 3 55 91 146 32 10 42 26 59 85 4 42 84 126 68 32 100 30 37 67 5 & 6 22 18 40 91 29 120 38 17 55 All companies: 252 307 559 297 99 396 187 210 397

nComputed. R = resident; N nonresident; T = total.

26 fish for whitefish and trout. The preference for whitefish and trout was related to the fact that the greatest portion of fishing was done on Great Slave Lake, the leading producer of these species. There was a decline in the number of fishermen who intended to fish for pickerel during the last 3 years.

TABLE 12. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed fishermen according to species they intended to fish, 1958-63.a

Species 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 Whitefish and trout 412 378 376 401 434 404 (96) (90) (88) (98) (98) (92) Pickerel 13 41 24 9 3 7 (3 ) (10) (6) (2) (1) (2) Whitefish only 2 2 1 5 «0.5) ( <0.5) «0.5) (1) Others 2 24 6 21 (1) (6) (1) (5) Total : 427 421 426 410 444 437 (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) �------aComputed.

The number of licenses issued for fishing on Great Slave Lake was relatively stable during 195 8-63 (Table 13). This lake alone accounted for over 79 % of the total number of licenses issued annually. Of the other lakes, only Kakisa and Tathlina had licenses issued for more than 3 years in a row. The remaining, smaller lakes were fished irregularly and only small numbers of licenses were issued.

As previously indicated, Great Slave Lake attracted the vast majority of fishermen from all ethnic groups, both residents and nonresidents. All licenses to fish on Lake Kakisa, except for 1961, and all licenses to fish on Lake Tathlina, were issued to residents of the Territories; licenses were sought by only a small proportion of each ethnic group. The smaller lakes were fished mostly by resident Indians and "Other."

TURNOVER AMONG FISHERMEN

The turnover among fishermen was very high (Table 14). Of the 1352 fisher­ men licensed to fish in the 6 years, 62 % obtained licenses for only 1 year, 16% for 2 years, and 8 to 4% for 3-6 years.

In general, as the number of years fished by each applicant increased, the per­ centage of the applicants resident in the Territories also increased. Of those who fished for 1 year, 44% were residents and the percentages from other areas ranged from 23 for Manitoba to 12 for Saskatchewan. Of those fishing for all 6 years, 91% were residents; 6% were from Alberta and less than 2% from each of the other areas. The percentage decrease for Manitoba was more rapid than that for the other provinces.

27 TABLE 13. Numbers of commercial fishing licenses issued annually by lakes, 1958-63.a

Lake 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963

Great Slave 44 1 404 389 381 411 384 (95) (79) (81) (89) (89) (83 ) Blaisdell 2 Chedabucto 3 Duncan Gordon 9 Grandin 24 13 Hidden 4 Hottah 9 Johnston Kakisa 13 36 II 12 Keller 7 16 6 Lac Ste. Therese 4 MacDonald 8 4 MacEwan 4 Nonacho 6 7 Reade 6 2 Reid 2 Ross 1 Tathlina 3 17 17 1 6 Thekulthili 12 8 Thuban 6 Tsu 5 Victory 2 Otherb 30 32 8 30 All lakes: 463 510 479 426 462 462

nComputed. Numbers in parentheses indicate the percentages of total annual licenses is­ sued for Great Slave Lake. The total number of licenses issued in 1958, 1959, and 1960 are slightly greater than those presented in Table 5. During 1958-60 commercial fishermen were issued either winter or summer licenses. The discrepancies in the totals are due to the fact that, where a fisherman had both a winter and a summer license in one year, the total num­ ber of licenses issued was reduced by one in the coding process. bIncIudes the fishing areas designated as Hay River Domestic, Liverpool Bay, and Mac­ kenzie River Delta. which are not lakes but are fishing grounds for which licenses or permits were issued.

Higher percentages of resident Metis and "Other" than of resident Indians applied for licenses in all 6 years (8 and 3 %, respectively). Few nonresidents, except from Manitoba, applied for more than 1 year. Only one "Other" nonresident applied for 6 years.

For all ethnic groups, both resident and nonresident, the percentage of the total number of fishermen tended to decline rapidly as the number of years licensed

28 TABLE 14. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed fishermen by number of years licensed,by region of residence and ethnic group, 1958-63." -----..-.-.�------_._-

- No. of years licensed Region of residence------

and ethnic group - - 2 3 4 5 6 Total � -... - -.------.-� .�". Numbers of licensed fishermen Northwest Territories Metis 106 43 37 23 22 21 252 Indians 174 54 25 16 17 11 297 Other 82 36 18 15 20 16 187 Total: 362(44) 133(62) 80(72 ) 54(74 ) 59(82) 48(91) 736(55)

Alberta Metis 79 12 8 2 2 3 106 Indians 6 6 Other 72 13 2 1 88 Total: 157( 19) 25(1 2) 8(7) 4(6) 3(4) 3(5) 200( 15)

Saskatchewan IV Metis 65 6 4 3 78 'D Indians 6 7 Other 26 7 1 1 1 36 Total: 97(12) 14(7) 5(4) 1 (1) 3(4) 1(2) 121(9)

Manitoba Metis 85 19 5 6 3 118 Indians 59 14 6 5 1 86 Other 50 8 8 3 2 71 Total : 194(23 ) 41 (19) 19(17) 14(19) 6(9) 1(2) 275(20)

British Columbia & othersh Metis 4 5 Indians Other 15 15 Total : 19(2) -(0) -(0) _(0) 1(1) -(0) 20( 1 ) Grand total: 829(62 ) 213(16) 112(8) 73(5) 72(5) 53 (4) 1,352( 100) (100) ( 100) (100) ( 100) ( 100) ( 100) ( 100) - _._-_._--_. --_ ..._._----_ . ._ . . -- ".. .. _.... ------�--.. -..--.-- "Computed. hPrimarily northwestern Ontario. TABLE 15. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of licensed fishermen by number of years licensed, by residential status, and ethnic group, 1958-63."

No. of Resident Nonresident -_._-- years licensed Metis Indians Otherb Metis Indians Otherb Total ----�--�-----��� 106 174 82 233 71 163 829 (42) (59) (44) (76) (72) (78 ) (62) 2 43 54 36 37 15 28 213 (17) (18) (19) (12) (15) (13 ) (16) 3 37 25 18 17 6 9 112 (15) (8) (10) (6) (6) (4) (8) 4 23 16 15 8 5 6 73 (9) (5) (8) (3 ) (5) (3 ) (5) 5 22 17 20 9 1 3 72 (9) (6) (11) (3 ) (1) (2) (5) 6 21 11 16 3 1 1 53 (8) (4) (3) «0.5) (1) «0.5) (4) Total : 252 297 187 307 99 210 1,352 (100) ( 100) ( 100) (100) (100) (100) (100) ---�--��� "Computed. bPredominantly white.

increased (Table 15). For resident Metis and resident "Other," higher percentages consistently applied for licenses in more years than other groups. Also, among Indians, residents consistently fished for more years than nonresidents.

30 Chapter III

OPERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

SUMMARY

Almost all the fish produced commercially in the District of Mackenzie was handled by four buying companies. There was considerable turnover among fish sellers committed to these companies; 76% of the sellers were active for no more than 2 of the 6 seasons analyzed and only 4% were active during all 6 seasons.

During both winter and summer seasons, resident fish sellers represented a much higher proportion of the total than nonresidents. However, landings and value of sales per seller were lower for residents. In general, Metis were the largest group of sellers in all seasons, followed by "Other" and Indians. In all seasons resident Indians had the lowest average production and value of sales. Nonresident Indians, however, exhibited a much better performance, particularly during the winters. The buying companies recruited nonresident sellers mainly from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and predominantly during the summer seasons.

Water Areas 1 and 2 of Great Slave Lake were the leading fishing grounds. Water Areas 3 and 4 were not as important producers, and the lakes included in the expansion program were even less important, possibly because of management factors and distance from delivery points. Great Slave Lake accounted for 87-97% of the total commercial landings.

Whitefish and trout were the two main commercial species. Others of impor­ tance were inconnu, pike, and pickerel. These species were sold in various forms at first delivery in combinations derived from the following: fresh, frozen, and round, dressed, dressed-headless. Prices for all species and almost all forms were higher for the winter seasons. In the aggregate, the average price per pound re­ ceived by sellers for the winter seasons was 15 cents; for the summer seasons, 11 cents. There was considerable variation in prices, among species and forms, and between seasons. In general, all forms of trout and pickerel were the highest priced, while pike was the lowest priced. All species in the fresh form were generally higher priced than those in the frozen form.

During the winter seasons 61 % of all fish sellers had gross value of sales of $2000 or less; 36% had sales of less than $501. Sellers whose sales were $2000 or

31 less accounted for only 14% of the winter landings and 11% of the value of sales. During the summers 58% of the sellers had sales of $2000 or less and accounted for only 15% of the summer landings and 14% of the value of sales. About 20% of the sellers had gross sales of $2001 to $5000 during both winter and summer seasons, and accounted for about 23 % of the landings and value of sales during the winters and 21 % during the summers. Twenty-three per cent of all sellers dur­ ing the summers, and 19% during the winters, had sales of more than $5000; these sellers accounted for about 65 % of both landings and value of sales during both summers and winters.

The number of sellers per major buying company did not appear to be related to volume of production and value of sales. The company that ranked third in number of sellers associated with it purchased the most fish during the period, at the highest value of total sales.

Fifty-two per cent of the total number of sellers during the winters, and 43 % during the summers, sold 10,000 lb or less. These sellers accounted for about 7% of both total landings and gross value of sales during both seasons. Forty-two per cent of the winter sellers sold less than 5001 Ib, and 26% of the summer sellers. During the winter seasons, 10% of the sellers sold more than 50,000 lb, and accounted for 45 % of both landings and value of sales; during the summer seasons, 20% were in this group and accounted for about 60% of landings and value of sales.

Individual fish sellers fell within one or more of the sales categories during the period. The vast majority of sellers were not active for more than 3 seasons.

During the winters, 87% of the total number of fish deliveries to the buying companies were made by crews ranging in size from one to four members and accounted for 70% of both total landings and value of sales. During the summers, 99 % of the deliveries were made by crews in this size range and accounted for 99 % of both total landings and value of sales.

DATA AVAILABLE

The Department of Fisheries of Canada maintains a "sales slip" system at its Hay River officefor the purpose of recording all commercial fish sales at the primary level. The sales slips provide data on the deliveries made by sellers, by company name, boat or license number, date and area of catch, name and address of seller, size of crew, volume and price per pound for the different species and forms. The objective is to provide information on the catch of whitefish and trout to facilitate control of the quotas for these species. The data recorded by the buyers are indi­ cated on the sample of the sales slip (Account Fish) in Appendix C. Data for a 3-year period, summer 1961 through winter 1963-64, were analyzed for the four major buying companies. The aim was to ascertain the gross financial returns from

32 the fishery to fish sellers, considering such factors as size of enterprise, areas and species fished, prices received, and continuity of fishing by and within seasons.

The primary fishing enterprises were organized in a variety of ways, depending upon the degree of entrepreneurial responsibility that the operators assumed. The individual who assumed the responsibility for the operation of each enterprise and in whose name the sales slips were completed was designated as the fish seller (or seller). In many instances, in addition to sellers, enterprises had crews of one or more individuals.

The commercial arrangements between sellers and buyers are important, but vary to a considerable degree and could not be ascertained from the sales slips.

RESIDENCE AND ETHNIC GROUPS OF SELLERS

More fish sellers operated in the summer seasons of 1961 and 1962 than in the following winter seasons, and fewer in the summer of 1963 than in the winter of 1963-64 (Table 16). Totals for the summer and winter seasons were 370 and 354. Resident sellers comprised between 68-75% of the total for the summer seasons and between 77-9 1 % for the winters.

Metis formed the largest group of sellers in the 6 seasons except the summer of 1963, when Indians were the largest. "Other" sellers were the second largest group except in the winter of 1963-64, when they were the smallest. Metis were 40% of the totals for both seasons; "Other" sellers, 34 and 33 % during the winters and summers, respectively; and Indians, 26 and 27 %, respectively.

Resident Metis formed the largest percentage of the sellers in 3 of the 6 seasons and resident Indians, by small margins, in 2. Of the nonresidents, during the winters 53% were Metis but in the summers there were 20% more "Other" than Metis sellers.

The average value of total sales for all ethnic groups, both resident and non­ resident, for the summer seasons ranged from about $2700 to $2900; for the following winters, from $2200 to $4300 (Table 16). Except in 1961, the average value of total sales for the summer seasons was higher than for the following winter season. But the average landings for all fishermen were higher in the summers than in the winters. The lower value of sales in the summer of 1961 than in the following winter was due to the usually lower fish prices during the summers. Because of the difference in price the landings for the 3 summers of 9.2 million Ib had a gross value of $1.05 million whereas the total winter landings of 6.8 million Ib had a gross value of $1.03 million.

Average landings and value of sales per seller were generally lower for resi­ dents than for nonresidents in both summer and winter seasons. Possibly nonresi­ dents were selected by the buying companies for their experience as fishermen in

33 TABLE 16. Numbers,and percentages (in parentheses), of fish sellers by residential status and ethnic group, by seasons, showing percent- ages of total landings and value of sales, and average landings and values of sales, per seller, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64.n

Residential Percentage Percentage status and Percentage of total Avg Percentage of total Avg ethnic of total Avg valu e value of total Avg value value groupb Sellers landings landings of sales of sales Sellers landings landings of sales of sales (No.) (lb) ($) (No. ) (lb) ($) Summer 1961 Winter 1961-62 R.M. 27 (25) 29 30,307 29 3,363 29 (30) 27 22,306 26 3,735 R.I. 21 (20) 2 2,730 10 222 10 (10) 5 12,968 5 2,295 R.O. 25 (23 ) 21 23,963 24 2,64 1 36 (37) 50 32,854 51 5,813 N.M. 17 (16) 25 40,858 8 4,575 13 (14) 9 15,530 8 2,497 N.r. 2 (2) 3 41,378 13 4,988 2 (2) 2 26,740 3 5,106 N.O. 15 (14) 20 36,83 1 16 4,260 7 (7) 7 24,609 7 4,340 Total: 107 (100 ) 100 26.2 10 100 2,926 97 (100) 100 24,607 100 4,264 Production total: (OOO's) 2,804 Ib $313 2,387 lb $414

Summer 1962 Winter 1962-63 w R.M. 45 (35) 36 26,63 1 35 2,930 37 (36) 43 18,37 1 43 2,607 .j:>. R.r. 21 (16) 4 6,899 4 697 24 (24) 7 4,777 6 533 R.O. 25 (20) 18 23,457 18 2,693 30 (29) 38 20,290 39 2,930 N.M. 14 (11) 20 46,742 20 5,356 7 (7) 5 11,075 5 1,498 N.r. 7 (5) 9 40,697 8 4,206 3 (3) 7 36,940 7 5,73 1 N.O. 17 (13) 13 25,3 16 15 3,192 1 (I) ( <0.2) 4,825 ( <0.2) 606 Total : 129 (100) 100 25.576 100 2.888 102 (100) 100 15,650 100 2,210 Production total : (OOO's) 3,299 Ib $373 1,596 Ib $225

Summer 1963 Winter 1963-64 R.M. 36 (27 ) 29 24,3 17 28 2,825 51 (33) 30 16,451 30 2,264 R.r. 39 (29) 10 7,680 9 835 52 (34) 7 3,722 7 555 R.O. 25 (19) 24 29,062 25 3,515 38 (24) 49 36,131 48 4,957 N.M. 9 (7) 8 29,407 8 3,337 5 (3) 3 17,897 3 2,573 N.l. 9 (7) 13 43,974 13 5,289 3 (2) 8 79,085 9 11,496 N.O. 16 (11) 16 31,441 17 3,761 6 (4) 3 14,036 3 1,936 Total : 134 (100) 100 22.873 100 2,694 155 (100) 100 18,171 100 2,527 Production total : (OOO's) 3,065 lb $361 2,8 16 Ib $392 Grand total : 370 9,168,819 lb $1,047,000 354 6,799,685 1b $1,03 1 ,000 .--�.�-.�--- "Computed. hR = resident; N = nonresident; M = Metis; I = Indians; 0 Other (predominantly white). TABLE 17. Numbers, and percentages (in parentheses), of fish sellers committed to the various buying companies,by residential status and ethnic group, combined winter seasons, and combined summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Residential status and Total all Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4 ethnic companies groupb Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer R.M. 35 32 11 26 48 33 23 17 117 108 (35) (29) (13 ) (3 1 ) (45) (3 I) (38 ) (24) (33 ) (29) R.I. 21 20 32 22 22 21 11 18 86 81 (21 ) (I8) (37) (26) (20) (20) (I8) (26) (24) (22) w VI R.O. 34 25 35 22 21 12 14 16 104 75 (34 ) (23 ) (41 ) (26) (I9) (II) (23 ) (23 ) (30) (20) N.M. s 13 1 2 9 17 7 8 25 40 (8) (12 ) ( I ) (2) (8) (16) (12) ( II) (7) (II) N.I. I 4 3 3 0 5 4 6 8 18 ( I ) (4) (4) (3) (0) (5) (7) (9) (2) (5) N.O. I 15 3 10 9 18 1 5 14 48 ( I ) (14 ) (4) (12) (8) (I7) (2) (7) (4) (13 ) Tot?l: 100 109 85 85 109 106 60 70 354 370 (IOJ) (100) (100) (100) (100) ( 100) ( 100) ( 100) (100) ( 100)

"Computed. hR = residents; N = nonresidents; M = Metis; I = Indians; 0 = Other (predominantly white). TABLE 18. Numbers and percentages (in parentheses), of fish sellers by areas and lakes for summer and winter seasons, by residential status and ethnic group, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64.n

Winter seasons Summer seasons Areas and lakesb R.M. R.I. R.O. N.M. N.!. NO. Total R.M. R.I. R.O. N.M. N.I. N.O. Total . ------�.-- Great Slave Lake: I and 2 103 42 74 21 6 II 257 92 37 59 40 14 42 284 (80) (45) (56) (81) (67) (65) (63) (41 ) (33 ) (4 1 ) (47) (33 ) (43) (41 ) 3 7 12 22 I 1 2 45 82 44 52 29 17 33 257 (5) (13 ) (17) (4) (11) ( 12) (II) (37) (40) (36) (34) (39) (34) (37) v.> 4 1 8 15 2 26 36 13 14 15 10 20 108 0\ ( I ) (9) (II) (0) (22) (0) (6) (16) (12) (10) (18) (23 ) (21 ) (15) Other lakes: 18 31 21 4 4 78 12 16 19 1 2 2 52 (14 ) (33 ) (16) (15) (0) (23) (20) (6) (15 ) (13 ) (I) (5) (2) (7) Total : 129 93 132 26 9 17 406 222 110 144 85 43 97 701 (100) (100) ( 100) ( 100) ( 100) (100) ( 100) (100) (100 ) (100 ) ( 100) (100) ( 100) (100)

aComputed. hLakes other than Great Slave. R = resident; N = nonresident; M = Metis; I = Indians; 0 = Other (predominantly white). The total numbers of sellers given here are considerably larger than the actual numbers because sellers moved from one water area or lake to another in both winter and summer. order to capitalize on their efficiency. Among residents, "Other" sellers had the highest average landings and the highest average value of sales except in 2 summer seasons, when Metis were highest. Among nonresidents, Indians sellers had the highest average landings and value of sales except in 1 summer season, the margins in 2 of the winter seasons being notably wide; Metis were the highest in 1 summer season and the second highest in 2 winter seasons.

In terms of total number of sellers for both seasons, the major buying com­ panies ranked in descending order as follows : 3, 1, 2, and 4 (Table 17). Each of the companies attracted more nonresident sellers during the summer seasons than during the winters. Each seller could sell to more than one of the companies, and the total numbers attracted by each company for the 2 seasons were :

Company 1 2 3 4 Winter 10 7 18 12 Summer 32 15 40 19

Hence, Companies 3 and 1 had larger numbers of nonresident sellers than the other two companies.

Metis were the largest group committed to each company in both winter and summer seasons except for Company 2. "Other" were the largest group for Com­ pany 2 both winter and summer, the smallest for Company 4 in summer, and the second largest for the other two companies both winter and summer. Indians were second largest for Company 2 in winter and for Company 4 in summer.

Of nonresident sellers, Company 1 had more "Other" in summer than of the other ethnic groups, but more Metis than "Other" for the 2 seasons combined. Company 2 had more "Other" than of the other two groups combined. Company 3 had almost equal numbers of "Other" and Metis both winter and summer, but no Indians in winter and few in summer. Company 4 had about as many Metis as In­ dians and "Other" combined, though it had more Indians both summer and winter than any other company.

The main fishing grounds for all sellers were Water Areas 1 and 2 of Great Slave Lake (Table 18)Y The other lakes were slightly more important than Areas 3 and 4 of Great Slave Lake during the winters but were of lesser importance than these two Areas during the summers, possibly because of the distance from delivery points and the management factors involved.

In the winter seasons an average of 63% of all sellers reported Water Areas 1 and 2 as the locale of their catches; 20% , other lakes; 11%, Area 3; and 6%, Area 4. In the summers an average of 41 % reported Areas 1 and 2 as the locale of their catches; 37%, Area 3; 15%, Area 4; and 7%, other lakes. Evidently there

13Water Areas 1 and 2 of Great Slave Lake were inadvertently combined in the computer programming.

37 was greater fishing activity on other lakes during the winters than during the sum­ mers. This was probably due to greater accessibility, through use of bombardiers and other snow-travel vehicles, to better alternative employment opportunities during summers, and to higher fish prices during the winter seasons which attracted more fishermen to these lakes.

In the summer seasons the percentage distribution of sellers according to ethnic group and residence status was more nearly uniform on Water Areas 1, 2, and 3 than in winter; Area 4 was more important in summer than in winter, and other lakes less important. In the summers, on Areas 1 and 2 both resident and nonresi­ dent Metis sellers were more numerous than those in the other ethnic groups and Indians were the least numerous. On Areas 3 and 4, Metis had the highest total and Indians the lowest. For the other lakes, all but 5 of the 52 sellers were residents, "Other" being the most numerous and Metis the least.

In the winter seasons a majority of the sellers in each ethnic group operated on Water Areas 1 and 2. The range was from 81 % for nonresident Metis to 45 % for resident Indians. The latter was the largest group (33% ) on the other lakes. On Areas 3 and 4, though the total numbers of sellers were small, resident "Other" and resident Indians were the largest groups. On the other lakes, most sellers were residents; Indians were the largest group and Metis, by a narrow margin, the smallest.

SPECIES AND FORMS OF FISH SOLD

As previously indicated, whitefish and trout were the main species caught. For the 3 winter seasons, whitefish accounted for 81 % of total landings; trout ac­ counted for 10% (Table 19). The corresponding percentages for the summers were 72 and 22. The other species produced accounted for 9 % of total landings during the winters and 6% during the summers.

Whitefish and trout also accounted for the bulk of gross sales and only 5 % by other species. In the winters 84% was contributed by whitefish, and 11% by trout and only 5 % by other species. In the summer seasons, 70% of gross value of sales was contributed by whitefish, 27% by trout, and 3% by the other species.

The different species were sold in a variety of forms which, to some extent, were specified by the buying companies. Certain forms were more plentiful during particular seasons. For example, during the winters whitefish was sold mostly in the fresh round and frozen round forms; trout, fresh dressed and frozen dressed. For the summers whitefish was mainly fresh dressed (including the small, medium, large, and jumbo sizes); trout, fresh dressed.

38 TABLE 19. Total landings, gross values of sales and prices per pound by species and forms, winter and summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64.u

Winter seasons Summer seasons ----- Total Gross value Price Total Gross value Price Species and forms landings of sales per lb landings of sales per lb ('000 lb) ( $'000 ) (¢) ('OOO lb) ($'000) (¢) Whitefish Fresh round 3571 596 16 679 69 10 Fresh dressed not classified 507 68 14 3664 409 11 small 239 21 9 medium <0.2 <0.1 23 1529 180 12 large 7 2 23 280 29 10 jumbo 45 9 21 102 17 17 Frozen round 1243 175 14 18 2 11 Frozen dressed 148 15 11 48 5 10 Total : 5521 865 6559 732 (81) (84) (72) (70) TrOll! Fresh round 6 16 10 2 16 Fresh dressed 484 82 17 1882 256 14 Fresh dressed, headless 50 11 21 152 21 14 Frozen round 4 16 Frozen dressed 87 14 16 3 1 20 Frozen dressed, headless 13 2 13 <0.7 <0.1 7 Total: 644 111 2048 280 (10) (11) (22) (27) IIlCOllllll Fresh dressed, headless 170 15 9 292 15 5 Frozen dressed, headless 80 7 9 <0.3 <0. 1 6 Total: 250 22 292 15 (4) (2) (3 ) (1) Pikeb Fresh 90 5 6 208 7 4 Frozen 161 8 5 Total : 251 13 208 7 (4) (1) (2) (1) Pickerelb Fresh 32 6 19 106 10 9 Frozen 53 8 14 2 <0.3 10 Total: 85 14 108 10 (1) (2) (1) (1) Total : 6751 1025 15 92 15 1044 11 (100) (100) (100) (100)

nComputed. The disparities between the totals reported here and those given on other tables are attributed to errors in computational programming. The numbers in parentheses indicate percentages. bThe sales slips did not indicate whether these species were sold in the round or dressed forms.

39 In the aggregate, the average price received by sellers for the winter seasons was 15 cents/lb; for the summer seasons, 11 cents. There was considerable varia­ tion in prices among species and forms and between seasons.14

Except for the larger-sized whitefish, which accounted for only a small per­ centage of the total for this species, trout and pickerel were the highest-priced during both the winter and summer seasons. All species in the fresh form were generally higher priced than those in the frozen form, although the frozen round and frozen dressed trout during the winters were equal in price to the fresh round. Whether fresh round or fresh dressed, or frozen round or frozen dressed, there were no great disparities in the summer prices for whitefish and trout, disregarding the few instances of small quantities for which high prices were obtained.

CLASSIFICATION OF SELLERS BY GROSS SALES

As adequate data were not available to classify the fishermen according to net sales, sellers (enterprises) were classed according to the values of gross sales. The sales class intervals were arbitrarily chosen to show distributions on the basis of what were considered low, medium, and high sales. For the low class the gross sales were $2000 or less; medium, $2001 to $5000; and high, over $5000.

During the winter seasons there were 354 sellers, who accounted for 6.8 mil­ lion lb of fish at a gross value of $1.03 million (Table 20). Of these 354 sellers, 61 % had low sales and accounted for only 14% of the total production and 11% of the gross value of sales. More than a third of all sellers were in the lowest group with gross sales of less than $501. This accounted for about 3 % of total landings and value of sales. The seIIers in the medium class were 20% of the total and accounted for slightly less than 25 % of landings and value of sales. The high sales class represented only 19% of the sellers but accounted for 63 and 65 % of total production and value of sales, respectively. Three per cent of the total were re­ garded as "high line" fishermen as their individual sales exceeded $15,000; they accounted for ] 6 % and ] 8 % of total landings and value of sales.

During the summers total landings were 9.2 million lb and the total number of sellers was 370 (Table 20). However, the gross value realized for this greater pro­ duction, $1.05 million, was about the same as that in the winters. Of the 370 seIIers, 58% were in the low sales class and accounted for 15 % of the total landings and 14% of the value of sales. A quarter of the seIIers had sales of less than $501 and accounted for only 2 % of the production and 1 % of the value of sales. The sellers in the medium class were 19% of the total and accounted for 21 % of both land­ ings and value of sales, somewhat less than the percentages for this class during the

14There were certain anomalies. For example, jumbo whitefish in the winter seasons were lower priced than the medium and large sizes. The anomalies were due to errors in entry on the sales slips, to errors in transfer of data from the sales slips to worksheets and in computer operations, or to combinations of these.

40 TABLE 20. Percentages of total landings and gross value of sales accounted for by fish sellers in each sales class, group, winter and summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Winter seasons Summer seasons Total Gross value Total Gross value Sales class Sellers landings of sales Sellers landings of sales

($) (No. ) (lb) ($) (No.) (lb) ($) Low Less than 501 36 3 2 25 2 1 501 - 1,000 12 4 3 15 4 4 1,00 1 - 2,000 13 7 6 18 9 9

Medium 2,001 - 5,000 20 23 24 19 21 21 High 5,001 - 10,000 12 29 29 17 44 44 10,001 - 15,000 4 18 18 6 20 21 Over 15,000 3 16 18 0 0 0 Total: 100 100 100 100 100 100 Production Total : 354 6.799,685 Ib $1,030,647 370 9.1 68,8 19 Ib $1,046,58 1

"Computed. winters. The sellers in the high sales class were 23 % of the total and accounted for 64 % of the landings and 65 % of the value of sales, practically the same per­ centages as for this class during the winters. There were no "high line" sellers during the summers.

For summer and winter seasons together, the total number of sellers in the various classes was 502 (Table 24). Of these, 31 % had sales of $500 or less; 64% , $2,000 or less; 18%, between $2,001 and $5,000; 18%, more than $5,000. Of the 89 sellers in the high class, 61 (69% ) had sales between $5,001 and $10,000.

CLASSES OF SELLERS IN RELATION TO BUYING COM PANIES

Table 21 shows the extent to which the various classes of sellers were asso­ ciated with each of the major buying companies.

During the winters, Company 3 had the largest number (109) of sellers. Company 1 was second with 100, followed by Companies 2 and 3. Company 2 was by far the leading purchaser, the next in order being Companies 1, 4, and 3. Hence, the numbers of sellers associated with the various buying companies were not clearly related to the total volume of fish purchased or the value of sales.

During the summer seasons, Company 1 had the largest numbers of sellers, and the others ranked in the order 3, 2, and 4. With respect to the volume pur­ chased, the companies ranked in order as follows : 1, 4, 2, and 3. In terms of gross value of sales, the order was 1, 2, 4, and 3.

41 TABLE 21. Percentages of sellers in each of the major buying companies that were in various sales groups, and of the company's landings and value of sales for which they accounted, winter and summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4 Sales Total Gross Total Gross Total Gross Total Gross group Sellers landings value Sellers landings value Sellers landings value Sellers landings value

Winter seasons Less than 501 37 5 4 37 2 43 6 6 20 501 - 1,000 17 8 7 5 18 10 9 3 1 1 1,001- 2,000 12 11 9 8 2 2 17 20 16 13 5 5 2,001 - 5,000 27 48 49 15 12 11 18 40 41 24 21 21 5,001 - 10,000 5 15 16 12 19 18 4 18 8 37 61 62 10,00 1 - 15,000 5 6 14 33 33 0 0 0 3 11 10 Over 15,000 8 9 9 31 34 <0.5 6 10 0 0 0 .j>. N Total: 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Production total: 100 1,165,490 1b $177,7 16 85 3,012,210 Ib $449,996 109 1,054,053 Ib $159,617 60 1,567,932 Ib $243,3 18

Summer seasons Less than 501 18 1 1 26 2 2 27 3 3 31 2 2 501 - 1,000 17 5 4 22 6 6 12 4 4 9 2 2 1,001 - 2,000 16 7 7 19 10 9 24 16 15 13 6 6 2,001 - 5,000 28 30 30 8 10 9 24 32 32 10 8 7 5,001 - 10,000 13 29 29 19 50 51 11 35 36 31 64 65 10,00 1 - 15,000 8 28 29 6 22 23 2 10 10 6 18 18 Over 15,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total : 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Production total: 109 2,714,354 Ib $336,167 85 2.1 10,355 Ib $243,794 106 2.070,767 Ib $230,807 70 2,273,343 Ib $235,8 I 3

nComputed. For each sales class (low, medium, and high) Table 22 gives the percentage distributions within the buying companies for sellers, total landings, and gross value of sales for the winter and summer seasons. For instance, during the winter seasons Company 3 had the largest percentage (78) of its sellers in the low sales class. These sellers accounted for 36% of the total volume of fish purchased by Company 3 and 31 % of the gross value of sales.

TABLE 22. Percentages of the total numbers of sellers in each buying company that were in the various sales classes, and of the company's total landings and value of sales for which they accounted, winter and summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Sales Total Gross value class Company Sellers landings of sales

Winter seasons Low 1 66 24 20 2 50 5 4 3 78 36 31 4 36 7 7 Medium 1 27 48 49 2 15 12 11 3 18 40 41 4 24 21 21 High 1 7 28 31 2 35 83 85 3 4 24 38 4 40 72 72

Summer seasons Low 1 51 13 12 2 67 18 17 3 63 23 22 4 53 10 10 Medium 1 28 30 30 2 8 10 9 3 24 32 32 4 10 8 7 High 1 21 57 58 2 25 72 74 3 13 45 46 4 37 82 83

nComputed.

DISTRIBUTION OF SELLERS BY VOLUME CLASS

Average landings and value of sales, and percentages of total landings and value of sales, associated with the sellers in various volume classes are indicated in Table 23.

For the winter seasons, 185 sellers (52 % of the total ) each had sales of 10,000 lb or less. These sellers accounted for 8 % of the total landings and 7 % of

43 TABLE 23. Numbers of fish sellers in various volume classes, and percentages of the total numbers; average landings and values of sales per seller, and percentages of total landings and values of sales; winter and summer seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Winter seasons Summer seasons Sellers Landings Value of sales Sellers Landings Value of sales Volume Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent class No. of total Avg of total Avg of total No. of total Avg of total Avg of total (lb) (Ib) ($) (lb) ($) Less than 5,001 148 42 1,84 1 4 275 4 96 26 1,92 1 2 193 2 "'" "'" 5,001 to 10,000 37 10 7,250 4 969 3 63 17 7,212 5 822 5 10,00 1 to 30,000 94 27 18,292 25 2,709 25 104 28 17,690 20 1,944 19 30,001 to 50,000 39 I I 38,893 22 6,196 23 33 9 38,73 1 14 4,604 14 50,001 to 70,000 14 4 59,610 12 9,593 13 39 10 60,854 26 6,901 26 70,001 to 100,000 17 5 87,233 22 13,193 22 30 8 83,787 27 9,774 28 Over 100,000 5 141,038 II 19,848 10 5 2 105,053 6 11,940 6 Total: 354 100 19,208 100 2,911 100 370 100 24,781 100 2,828 100

Production total: 354 0.799.085 Ib $1.030,047 370 9,108.819 Ib $1.046,581 "Computed. the total value of sales. Sellers in the lowest volume class were 42 % of the total and accounted for only 4% of both total landings and value of sales. Nearly 40% of all sellers sold between 10,000 and 50,000 Ib and accounted for approximately 50% of both total production and value of sales. Those selling more than 50,000 lb were 10 % of the total and accounted for 45 % of both total landings and value of sales. Only 1 % of the sellers sold more than 100,000 lb, accounting for 11% of total production and 10% of gross sales.

During the summer seasons 43 % of the sellers were in the lowest volume class of 10,000 Ib or less. These sellers accounted for 7% of both the total landings and gross value of sales. Those selling between 10,000 and 50,000 lb were 37% of the total and accounted for about 34% of total landings and value of sales. Average production for these sellers was very close to that for the similar group in the winters but average gross value of sales was lower. Those selling more than 50,000 Ib during the summers were 20% of the total and accounted for 59% of the total landings and 60% of the gross value of sales.

TURNOVER AMONG SELLERS

As shown below there were 311 individual fish sellers during the 6 seasons analyzed (the numbers in parentheses indicate percentages of total ) :

No. of seasons active : 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total No. of sellers : 158(51) 79(25) 22(7) 14(5) 26(8) 12(4) 311(100)

As the number of seasons increased, the percentage of active sellers declined. Those active for 2 seasons out of the 6 were 76% of the total. This indicates a rapid turnover in the personnel of fish sellers, similar to that demonstrated earlier among licensees.

Of the total number of sellers in the various sales classes during the period, the number that were active for only 1 season was 373 (Table 24). Of these, 70% were in the low sales class, 17 % in the medium class, and 13 % in the high class. For the 85 sellers active for 2 seasons, the corresponding percentages were 55, 19, and 26; for the 30 sellers active for 3 seasons, 47, 20, and 33.

Of the 322 sellers in the low sales class, over 90% sold fish for only 1 or 2 seasons; only 2 % sold for 4 seasons, and none for more than 4.

Only in the medium sales class were any sellers active in each of the 6 seasons. However, 69% were active for only 1 season, and only 13% for more than 2 seasons.

In the high sales class only the group with sales between $5,001 and $10,000 had sellers who were active for more than 3 seasons. As gross sales increased above $10,000, the number of seasons that any sellers were active decreased.

45 TABLE 24. Numbers of fish sellers in each of the sales classes that were active for various numbers of seasons, and percentages (in parentheses) for each class and each number of seasons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

No. of seasons active Sales class 2 3 4 5 6 Total $ Low Less than 501 122(78) 24( 15 ) 8(5) 2(2) 0(0) 0(0) 156(100) (33 ) (28) (27) (20) (0) (0) (3 1 ) 501 - 1,000 70(85) 10(12) 2(3 ) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 82(100) (19) (12) (7 ) (0) (0) (0) (16) 1,00 1 - 2,000 66(79) 13(15) 4(5) 1 (1) 0(0) 0(0) 84(100) (18) (15) (I3 ) (10) (0) (0) (17) Medium 2,001 - 5,000 63 (69) 16(18) 6(7) 3 (3) 2(2) 1(1) 91(1 00) (17) (19) (20) (30) (67) ( 100) (18) High 5,00 1 - 10,000 35(57) 14(23 ) 7(11 ) 4(7 ) 1(2) 0(0) 61 (100) (9) ( 17) (23 ) (40) (33) (0) (12) 10,001 15,000 11(55) 6(30) 3 (15) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 20( 1(0) (3) (7 ) (10) (0) (0) (0) (4) Over 15,000 6(75 ) 2(25 ) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 8(100) (1) (2) (0) (0) (0) (0) (2) Total : 373(74) 85 (17) 30(6) 10(2) 3(1) 1(0) 502(100) (100) ( 1(0) ( 100) ( 1(0) ( 100) (100) (100)

"Computed. The total number of fish sellers does not correspond with that given earlier in this chapter where the classification was based on participation of individual sellers during each of the 6 seasons. In this table, due to the aggregation of seasons, an individual seller may appear more than once in the same or in a different sales class.

LANDINGS AND SALES BY SIZE OF CREW

Table 25 indicates the crew sizes which accounted for the bulk of landings and value of sales. The production and value of sales per man-delivery gave no clear indication of economies resulting from increased crew sizes during either winter or summer seasons.

During the winters there were 6331 deliveries of fish to the four buying com­ panies by the various crew sizes. One-member crews accounted for 13% of all deliveries and 6% of both total volume and value of sales; two- and three-member crews together accounted for 60% of total deliveries and about 46% of total pro­ duction and value of sales. As crew sizes increased over three members, the per­ centages of total deliveries made became noticeably smaller. Furthermore, as crew sizes increased beyond three, there was a decrease in the percentages of total land­ ings and value of salcs. Ignoring the eight-member crews, which accounted for only 1 % of all deliveries, the one-member crews were highest in both production and value of sales per man-delivery.

46 TABLE 25. Numbers of deliveries, and landings and values of sales in total and per man-delivery, by size of crew, winter and summer sea- sons, summer 1961 to winter 1963-64."

Winter seasons Summer seasons .._-- Size Production Gross Value Production Gross Value of No. of Total per man- value per man- No. of Total per man- value per man- crew deliveries landings delivery of sales delivery deliveries landings delivery of sales delivery 'OOO lb Ib $'000 $ 'OOO lb Ib $'000 $ 820 418 509 59 72 5,037 1,745 346 188 37 ( 13) (6) (6) (37) (19) (18) 2 2,264 1.504 332 225 50 2.235 1,028 230 116 26 (36) (22) (22) (16) (11 ) ( 11) 3 1,545 1,530 330 24 1 52 3,103 2,898 311 352 38 (24) (23 ) (25) (23) (32) (33 )

.p. 4 868 1,267 365 199 57 3.057 3.427 280 383 31 o"J (14) ( 19) ( 17) (23 ) (37) (37) 5 254 557 439 82 56 92 125 27 1 13 28 (4) (8) (8) ( 1 ) ( I ) (1) 6 225 532 394 78 58 (4) ( 8) (8) 7 148 269 259 41 40 4 6 212 2 57 (2) (4) (4) «0.5) ( <0.5) ( <0.5 ) 8 45 206 573 28 78 ( 1 ) (3) (3) 9 162 463 317 70 48 (2) (7) (7) All crews : 6,33 1 6,746 1,023 13,528 9,229 1,054 (100) (100) (100) ( 100 ) ( 100) ( 100)

"Computed. The disparities between these totals and those in other tables are attributed to errors in the computational programming. The numbers in parentheses indicate percentages. During the summers there were 13,528 deliveries. One-member crews ac­ counted for 37% of these and nearly 20% of both total production and value of sales; two- and three-member crews together accounted for 39% of total deliveries (compared with 60% for these crew sizes during the winters) and about 43% of total production and value of sales. Crews having from one to four members accounted for 99% of all deliveries, total production and value of sales, in contrast to 87% of deliveries and 70% of total production and value of sales for crews of these sizes during the winter seasons. One- and three-member crews were the highest in pro­ duction and value per man-delivery.

48 Chapter IV

DOMESTIC FISHING

INTRODUCTION

In addition to the commercial and sport fisheries, a domestic fisheryl" is carried on in the Northwest Territories. The purpose of this fishery is to provide food for residents and their dogs. Indians, Metis, Eskimos, and persons living in remote areas (primarily R.C.M.P. and mission personnel) are the main groups allowed to participate in the domestic fishery.

Domestic fishing is an all-year activity but is intensified during the ice free period, which begins during late May to mid June and continues until fall. Large quantities of whitefish, inconnu, trout, and other species are caught during the fall spawning runs. Quantities in excess of current requirements are preserved for human use by splitting, drying, and smoking. Fish for dog food are not dressed but are usually hung on sticks or stored in barrels or pits. The incidence of putrefaction before the cold begins is not regarded as serious, since it is believed that fish in the early state of decomposition are more nutritive to dogs than in the fresh form. In winter, fish are readily preserved by natural freezing.

When temperatures are favourable to fish movement during the winter there is greater activity in domestic fishing. The thickness of the ice, which is a factor of water temperature, may also affect fish movement and, therefore, fishing activity.

Domestic fishing is permitted by the Fishery Regulations, in any waters, with­ out charge.16 To further ensure opportunities for domestic fishing, certain lakes and

15Data on domestic production are available in various official reports. However, these are incomplete in coverage and, therefore, limit the scope for an adequate analysis of the fishery. This chapter is based primarily on investigations by the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, supplemented by information from the Commercial Fishery Reports of the Depart­ ment of Fisheries of Canada, by discussion and correspondence with the Indian Affairs Branch office at Fort Smith, and by an unpublished working paper on freshwater fisheries develop­ ment in the Territories by R. A. Jenness, Northern Co-ordination and Research Centre, De­ partment of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Ottawa, 1963. 16Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations, P.C. 1954- 1 626, SOR/54-491, Canada Ga­ zette, Part II, Vol. 88, No. 21, November 10, 1954 and SOR Consolidation, 1955, Vol. 2 as amended by SOR/66-77, Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 100, No. 4, February 23, 1966 and SOR/66-255, Canada Gazette, Part II. Vol. 100, No. 12, June 22, 1966.

49 areas of other lakes have been closed to commercial fishing.l' The Department of Fisheries at Hay River carries on a continuing review of the opportunities for domestic fishing.

There have been two types of operations in this fishery : unorganized and organized. Unorganized fishing has been carried on by persons permitted to fish under Section 4, Subsection 2, of the Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations without being sponsored or assisted in their operations by the Indian Affairs Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration, or by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. Organized fishing has been sponsored and assisted by these two agencies, which have aided local residents to obtain fish for their domestic use and to market any surpluses.

UNORGANIZED FISHING

This type of fishing has been carried on in quest of food for individuals, their families, and their dogs. The dependence upon dogs for winter transportation requires that they be satisfactorily fed, and, therefore, the intensity of unorganized fishing by the various communities and camps is based, to a large extent, upon the number of dogs.

In 1944 Rawson estimated annual domestic fish production for Great Slave Lake to be between 500,000-1,000,000 Ib.1H The quantity fed to dogs was esti­ mated to be approximately 80% of this total,lH Information from other sources provides the basis for the following description of the unorganized domestic fishing operations for different periods and at various locations in the District of Mackenzie.

ARM OF GREAT SLAVE LAKE (1946-54)

This information was obtained from a report on a Fisheries Research Board survey carried out in 1962.20 It was found that Indian fishermen, on the average, were inadequately equipped with gear for extensive operations. In a majority of cases, each fisherman had only one net, which was usually supplied by the Indian Affairs Branch. There were indications of poor management in the maintenance of fishing equipment. When fish runs were large, natives stored surpluses for future use; at other times there were only enough fish for immediate requirements.

Gill nets, locally made in many cases from unwoven or partially woven twine, were widely used but fishing hooks were sometimes utilized in taking trout and burbot. Good fishing was reported during some years and it was observed that improvements in the types of gill nets and in storage facilities would improve the well-being of participants.

lTSee Section 25 (1-5 ) and Schedule B of reference cited in footnote 16. lSD. S. Rawson. Great Slave Lake. In North West Canadian Fisheries Surveys in 1944- 45. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, No. 72. Ottawa. 1947, p. 64. 19See p. 65 of reference cited in footnote 18. 20J. J. Keleher and C. G. Haight. 1962 census and fish supply in North Arm. Fisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series (Biological), No. 800, October, 1964.

50 HAY RIVER REGION ( FALL 1958)

Very productive fishing was reported in the Hay River region in the fall of 1958 since advantage was taken of the concentration of spawning fish. Some areas of major activity were Buffalo Lake, Fish Point, False Point, and the mouths of both channels of the Hay River.

A summary of the survey by the Fisheries Research Board�l for this season is as follows :

i) In some cases, considerable distances were covered by foot before the selected sites for fishing were reached. Canoes and nets from previous trips were stored at many fishing sites. Other means of transportation included freighter canoes with outboard motors.

ii) Gill nets were used by most participants. The nylon nets were old and appeared to have been discarded from commercial fishing.

iii) There was a scarcity of trout and inconnu, which seemed to have mi­ grated from the area after spawning.

iv) Greater volumes could have been landed if nets were in better condition and were set in areas of maximum fishing advantage, that is, at greater distances from shore and hence in deeper waters.

v) In areas close to Hay River it was not necessary to store large quantities of fish for winter since local residents could obtain culled fish from the commercial operations. Indians of the west channel dried only enough fish in the fall to serve until the beginning of the winter commercial fishery.21

R.C.M.P. FISHING AT FORT RAE (1940-59 )

All domestic fall fishing by the R.C.M.P. detachment at Fort Rae was centered in the Old Fort Point area, about 25 miles from Rae. Eighty per cent of landings were whitefish, which averaged about 2 lb. Other species included pike and inconnu. Winter fishing was concentrated around the Rae and Frank's Channel area. During November 2 to December 15, 1945, inclusive, 3000 whitefish were caught in the vicinity of Frank's Channel. Fishing in the same locality in 1947 showed a drastic decline in the numbers caught. By 1960, it was reported that "today it would almost take the entire winter to catch 1000 fish in eight nets."22 The apparent reduction in the number of fish in the Rae and Frank's Channel area after 1946 made it necessary for natives to fish a large proportion of their winter supply from the Trout Rock area.

21Fisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series (Biological), No. 680, August, 1959. 22Fisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series (Biological), No. 800. October, 1964.

51 SNOWDRIFT AREA (FALL 1961)

In most cases there were marked inefficiencies in fishing practices in the Snowdrift area in the fall of 1961. Participants used only enough gear to supply their daily needs. Nets were made of cotton, linen, and nylon and were mostly equipped with rocks and sticks rather than with the conventional leads and floats. The nets often became snarled and, because they could not hang as well as those properly equipped, small volumes were landed.

Total domestic catch during this season was estimated at 43,404 lb and represented an effort equivalent to one setting of 193 gill nets of 100 yards each. The two main species were whitefish and trout, which together constituted 79% of total production (Table 26).

TABLE 26. Estimated catch and effort, Snowdrift area, fall domestic fishery, 1961.a

Catch in pounds No. Location Whitefish Trout Others Total of nets Snowdrift River 16,647 2,857 19,504 68b (45) Stark River 836 1,291 694 2,821 18c (6) Stark Lake 1,87 1 2,530 986 5,387 35c (12) Ogilvie Lake 6,756 888 7,644 48b (18) Great Slave Lake 2,038 2,354 3,656 8,048 24b (19) Total : 28,148 6,175 9,08 1 43,404 193 (65) (14) (21 ) (100)

aJ. J. Keleher and C. G. Haight. The Fall Domestic Fishery at Snowdrift, Northwest Territories. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 22(6) : 1572, 1965. The num­ bers in parentheses indicate percentages. bBased on whitefish. cBased on average of whitefish and trout.

Forty-five per cent of the catch was from the Snowdrift River and less than 20% from Great Slave Lake. A census of the Snowdrift community showed 158 Indians and 167 dogs. Comparison of the census data with the data for those who fished indicated that about half of the Indians, who owned about a third of the dogs, did not directly participate.

RAE TRADING AREA (1962)

The Indian Agency Office at Yellowknife conducted a survey of fishing among 117 families during June and July, 1962 (Table 27). Nearly 156,000 fish were caught in 20 locations. On the assumption that each person or dog consumed two

52 fish daily, total requirements were estimated at 578,810 fish. The catch was, there­ fore, only 27% of the requirements.

TABLE 27. Results of Indian Affairs Branch survey of the 1962 domestic fishing for Rae Trading Area." (Asterisk indicates position recorded from Gazetteer. )

No. at each location Fish Fish No. Location N lat W long People Dogs caught required Slemmon Lake 63 °07' 115°55' 13 19 3.700 8,760 2 Lajeunesse Bay 63°05' 115°37'* 75 90 21,900 77,280 3 Shoti Lake 63 °08' 116°28' 51 43 5,600 30, 120 4 Marian Lake Village 63 °03' 116° 19' 73 70 7,120 51,010 5 Trout Rock 62°28' 114°58' 41 30 15,500 17,540 6 Island Village 63 °00' 116° 17' 11 14 7,100 4,980 7 James Lake 63°00' 116°26'* 1 2,000 60 8 Mattberry Lake 64° 18' 115°47' 21 2 1,800 10,560 9 Faber Lake 63 °55' 117°05' 26 23 7,600 15,240 10 Hislop Lake 63 °3 1' 116°55" :' 17 19 4,100 2,760 11 Camsell River 64° 17' 117°22' 2 5 1,200 1,680 12 Basler Lake 63 ° 54' 115°49' 27 25 1,300 22,640 13 Rayrock 63 °31 ' 116°42' 8 7 10,950 14 Winter Caribou Camp 63 °40' 113°5S' 15 Ghost Lake 63 °51 ' 115° 10" :' 16 20 1,800 13,080 16 Fort Rae 62° 50' 116°0P' 98 55 14,300 99,760 17 Old Fort Point 62°40' 115°50'* 33 17 9,200 24,040 18 Stagg River 62 °34' 115°44'* 18 10 2,000 1,680 19 Stagg Lake 62° 52' 115°29'* 28 24 6,400 25,340 20 Lac La Martre 63 °07' 117 °09' 129 86 43,300 161,330 Total: 688 559 155,920 578.810

"Fisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series (Biological) , No. 800, October, 1964, p. 29.

From this survey the relative importance of Great Slave Lake in the domestic fishery was assessed (Table 28). Of the 20 areas, only 3 were located on Great Slave Lake : Old Fort Point (Rae Point), Trout Rock and Stagg River. The numbers of people and dogs at these 3 locations amounted to less than 15% of the totals in each case. Total catch was 26,700 fish, or 17% of the catch in all locations. The requirements for Great Slave Lake were only 8 % of the Rae trading area's require­ ments. Families fishing in Great Slave Lake caught approximately 62% of their needs; in other locations, only about 24% .

ORGANIZED FISHING

This type of fishing was carried on in the Mackenzie Delta, the Eskimo Lakes, and Great Bear Lake, and at Trout Rock on Great Slave Lake. Provision was made by the Indian Affairs Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration, and the then Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources for individual fisher-

53 TABLE 28. Summary of Indian Affairs Branch survey (1962) of domestic fishing for the Rae Trading Area.a (Numbers in parentheses indicate percentages).

Great Slave Lake Other camps Total No. of locations fished 3 (15) 17(85) 20 No. of family heads interviewed 15(13) 112(87) 117 No. of people 92(14 ) 596(86) 688 No. of dogs 57 (10) 502(90) 559 No. of fish caught 26,700(17) 129,220(83 ) 155,920 required 43,260(8) 535,550 (92) 578,810

nFisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series, (Biological ), No. 800, October, 1964, p. 30. The figures showing numbers of fish caught at Other camps, total and percentages have been corrected on the basis of the figures shown in table II of the Manu­ script Report. men to purchase or rent boats, gear and equipment, thereby enabling them to increase the efficiency of operations. The agencies arranged to purchase surplus catches, to provide freezer facilities and, at times, skilled supervision. The quantities pur­ chased were later sold to neighbouring residents who, because of employment in permanent or casual jobs, could not fish for themselves. To this extent, the opera­ tion was commercial in nature. Small quantities were also sold in dried or fresh form to the R.C.M.P., trading posts, and others. Selling prices varied by locality and species; lake trout was the highest priced while pike was the lowest.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, 1959-64

The estimated domestic catches at eight selected locations during October to March 1959-60 were as follows : Lac La Fort Fort Trout Rocher Hay All Snowdrift Martre Reliance Resolution Rock River River locations28 Catch ('000 Ib) 106 82 9 23 68 29 27 238

During 1961, catches at the following locations were : Yellowknife, Fort Lac La Jean Marie River Fort All Rae, Trout Rock Martre ( 1 st week of October) Providence locations24 Catch ('000 Ib) 100 80 15 10 205

The estimated catch in 1962 for the area extending from Forth Smith to Inuvik was reported at about 2.7 million lb. In 1963 nearly 2 million lb were taken from four areas : Fort Simpson, 85,000 lb; Forth Smith, 70,000; Yellowknife, 270,000; and Aklavik, 1.5 million.25

28Commercial Fishery Report, District No. 3, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Hay River, 1959-60. 24Ibid., 1961. 25Ibid., 1962 and 1963.

54 Domestic needs were adequately met during 1964. �6 Reports submitted by the Indian Affairs Branch to the Department of Fisheries at Hay River indicated that their four agencies in the District of Mackenzie took a total of about 3.24 mil­ lion lb of fish, as follows : Fort Fort All Simpson Yellowknife Inuvik Smith Locations

Catch ('000 1 b) 197 851 2000 190 3238

The Fort Rae Indian fishery was probably the most important in the Territo­ ries, in terms of the number of inhabitants (1000) who were dependent on fish for food. A total of 690,000 lb was taken.

TABLE 29. Domestic fish production by Indians, by selected areas, Northwest Territories, 1961-62.a

Fish caught Indian population Area (Dec. 31, 1963 ) Total Per capita ------�-. (lb) (Ib) Fort Smith (inc!. Fitzgerald) 205 68,775 335 Fort Resolution 253 93,000 368 Rocher River 204 75,200 369 Hay River 202 102,700 508 Yellowknife (inc!. Fort Rae) 1,40 1 467,760 334 Fort Providence 381 155,250 407 Jean Marie (included elsewhere) 66,200 Trout Lake/Nahanni (included elsewhere) 78,900 Fort Liard 259 44,700 173 Fort Simpson 518 22,500 43 Willow Lake (included elsewhere) 20,500 Fort Wrigley 150 63,200 42 1 Fort Norman 136 62,200 457 Fort Franklin 289 258,500 894 Fort Good Hope 312 346,500 1,111 Arctic Red River 181 74,600 412 Fort McPherson (inc!. part of Mackenzie Delta) 682 506.040 742 Aklavik (incl. Inuvik) 113,600 Total : 5.173 2,620.125

"A Working Paper by G. Abrahamson. Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Ottawa, 1964.

The production by Indians in selected areas during 1961-62 is shown in Table 29. Only seven areas produced total landings of more than 100,000 lb. Less than 500 lb per capita were caught in most areas, only Fort Good Hope registering more than 1000 lb.

2GCommercial Fishery Report District No. 3, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Hay River. 1964.

55

Chapter V

SPORT FISHING

SUMMARY

Increasing interest in sport fishing27 was reflected by annual increases in the number of angling licenses from 1954 to 1964. Data on the numbers of fish taken annually are not available. The main species are trout, grayling, pike, pickerel, and Arctic char.

Angling licenses were issued to residents of the Territories, of other parts of Canada, and of the United States. Between 1951-52 and 196 1-62 the increases in numbers of Canadian anglers were proportionately about the same for those in the Territories and those from the provinces. The numbers of United States anglers increased greatly toward the end of the period, and about 40 states were represented during the period. During the last 2 years of the period, anglers came from more than 30 states. With sport fishing concentrated in and around Great Slave and Great Bear lakes, most fishing lodges were located in the vicinity of these lakes.

Sport fishing did not compete seriously with commercial fishing. Whether or not it may become a threat to commercial and domestic fishing depends on a number of factors : (1) increase in numbers of sport fishermen, (2) proximity of sport fishing locations to commercial operations, and (3) effects of sport fishing expansion on availability of fish for domestic use.

Some factors which might impede future development and expansion of angling are : limited accessibility by roads and high costs of air travel to fishing locations, types and numbers of lodging accommodation available, and seasonal nature of operations with its limiting effects.

27The qualitative information was obtained mainly from officers of the Department of Fisheries of Canada. The quantitative data were obtained from a working paper on freshwater fisheries development in the Northwest Territories prepared in 1964 by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, and from reports by the Fisheries Research Board of Canada on investigations of the Great Slave Lake fishery.

57 ANGLING LICENSES

The Northwest Territories Fishery Regulations define "sport fish" as "fish that is taken for pleasure and not for sale or barter." Angling is defined as "the taking of fish with hook and line held in the hand, or with hook and line and rod, the latter held in the hand, and includes trolling for sport fish for family use only, but not for sale or barter, and does not include set lines tied to a boat."

A sport fishing license is obtainable annually for the period April 1 to March 31 at a fee of $1 for residents and $2 for nonresidents, and entitles its holder to angle for sport fish in any lake within the Territories. Participants are not required by the Regulations to report quantitative data on their catches in terms of the species taken, etc.

Growing interest in angling was indicated by increases in the number of licenses issued annually from 1954-55 to 1963-64 (Table 30). Residents as well as nonresidents obtained increased numbers of licenses in most years. However, with the exception of 1961-62, nonresidents by far outnumbered residents. From 1954 to 1959, with the exception of 1955, the residents to nonresidents ratio ranged from 0.18 to 0.26. After 1959 there was a marked increase in this ratio.

TABLE 30. Numbers of angling licenses issued annually, Northwest Territories, 1954-55 to 1963-64."

Total Ratio Year issued Residents Nonresidents Residents to nonresidents 1954-55 133 27 (20) 106(80) 25 1955-56 270 106(39) 164 (61) 65 1956-57 743 120(16) 623 (84) 19 1957-58 839 126(15) 713(85) 18 1958-59 1100 229(21 ) 871 (79) 26 1959-60 1204 407 (34) 797(66) 51 1960--61 1406 504(36) 902(64) 56 1961-62 1605 810(51) 795 (49) 102 1962-63 2153 928(43 ) 1225(57) 76 1963-64 2381 985(41 ) 1396(59) 71

nA working paper by G. Abrahamson, prepared for the Northern Administration Branch, Projects Section, Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. Ottawa, 1964. The numbers in parentheses indicate percentage of annual total.

LICENSEES

Keleher analyzed angling licenses for the Northwest Territories from 1951-52 to 196 1-62 according to place of issue.2R He showed that over the period a total of

2RJ. J. Keleher. Angling license sales from Northwest Territories. Canada. with special reference to Great Slave Lake. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 21 (3): 643-645, 1964.

58 TABLE 31. Northwest Territories angling licenses, 1951-52 to 196 1-62, according to place of issue." (Percentages of nonresident licenses are in parentheses.)

Year Location 51-52 52-53 53-54 54-55 55-56 56-57 57-58 58-59 59-60 60-6 1 61-62 Total Aklavik" 4 22 52 50 32 160(53 ) Baker Lake 4 15 15 24 29 41 128(30) Cambridge Bay 49 9 12 10 34 63 88 265 (58) Cape Christian 3 9 4 7 5 20 48(10) Cape Parry 4 19 15 11 6 55(22) Chesterfield Inlet 2 10 12 3 12 11 11 61(62) Coppermine 13 11 5 14 10 9 62(37)

VI Eskimo Point 8 II 7 3 2 32(81) \0 Frobisher Bay" 489 626 735 572 427 451 3300(80) Rankin Inlet 15 32 40 87(28) Fort Smith 9 48 89 146(37) Subtotald 3 2 64 538 687 820 762 726 928 4530(71) Great Slave Lake 112 77 103 128 206 205 152 279 44 1 677 678 3058(64) Total :" 124 80 103 132 270 743 839 1099 1203 1403 1606 7603 (68)

HJ. J. Keleher. Angling License sales from Northwest Territories, Canada, with special reference to Great Slave Lake. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 21(3) : 644, 1964. "Includes Inuvik (68°21'N., 133 °43'W). "Includes Distant Early Warning Line sites. dIncludes 104 from 9 other locations and 82 from Great Bear Lake in 196J. eIncludes 15 from unknown locations, one being issued in 1950. 7603 licenses were issued and that license sales increased annually after 1952 at an uneven rate (Table 31). The greatest number of licenses was issued at radar sites of the DEW Line. The other main concentration of license issues was in the Great Slave Lake region at Hay River, Yellowknife, Taltheilei Narrows, and Snowdrift. The licensees in the Great Slave Lake region were classified into three groups: Northwest Territories, Provinces, and U.S.A. (Table 32).

TABLE 32. Northwest Territories angling licenses issued at Great Slave Lake according to residence of licensees.a (Number of states are in parentheses.)

Canada Year N.W.T. Provinces U.S.A. Totalb 195 1-52 46 30 11(4) 112 1952-53 31 26 20(8) 77 1953-54 25 28 50(1 ) 103 1954-55 25 21 82(17 ) 128 1955-56 99 26 81 (15) 206 1956-57 88 24 9(5) 205 1957-58 84 29 39(12) 152 1958-59 162 75 42( 14) 279 1959-60 153 120 168(27 ) 44 1 1960-61 199 119 359(33 ) 677 1961-62 243 152 283 (32) 678 Total : 1155 650 1144 ( 40) 3058

aJ. J. Keleher. Angling License sales from Northwest Territories, Canada, with special reference to Great Slave Lake. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 21 (3): 645, 1964. hlncIudes 109 licenses of unknown residence.

Canadians accounted for about 60 % of the total number of licenses. Of the number for Canada, about 64% were issued to residents of the Territories; among the provinces Alberta was first with 488, followed by Ontario (57), Saskatchewan (40), British Columbia (34), and Manitoba (31). There was greater diversity of origin for United States anglers, who came from 40 states. The greatest number (148) was from Illinois, followed by Minnesota (129), and Texas (108).

LEADING SPECIES AND AREAS

The leading species taken were trout, grayling, pike, pickerel, and Arctic char. Inconnu was not a popular sport fish on Great Slave Lake. It is believed that "the proper angling methods" for this species "have not yet been locally discovered. If a means could be devised to make inconnu reasonably vulnerable to anglers, a valu­ able addition to the sport fishery would result. "2a

:WJ. J. Keleher and B. E. Meeker. Results of a preliminary survey of the Great Slave Lake Sport Fishery. Fisheries Research Board of Canada Manuscript Report Series (Biological) No. 725, London, Ontario, August, 1962, p. 12.

60 FORT RElIANCE

TA LTHEILEI

YELLOWkNIFE

0- 1 FORT RESOLUTION

HAY RIVER

FIG. 10. Great Slave Lake sport fishing locations. Certain locations have emerged as leading sport fishing areas. Those in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake include Hay River, Mackenzie River, Yellowknife, Taltheilei Narrows, Reliance, Snowdrift, and Fort Resolution (Fig. 10). With sport fishing concentrated in and around Great Slave and Great Bear lakes, most fishing lodges are located in the vicinity of these lakes.30

COMPETITION WITH COMMERCIAL FISHING

Because of such factors as distance and accessibility, commercial fishermen were not readily attracted to some sport fishing locations. Competition between anglers and commercial fishermen was minimized by zoning under the Fishery Regulations, which stipulate that certain lakes and designated areas on others are closed to commercial fishing (Fig. 1). Among the noted sport fishing areas were Great Bear Lake and the following areas along Great Slave Lake : McLeod Bay, the estuaries of the Talston, Slave and Hay rivers, and the arm extending north­ wards from Whitebeach Point. Maximum allowable catch was stipulated by number and species for individual anglers.

Lodge operators, wishing to have lakes in the vicinity of their operations reserved exclusively for angling, cooperated in diffusing angling intensity in order to prevent over-fishing and over-crowding.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Most lodges were foreign-owned; customers and supplies were flown in directly from centres outside the Territories. It was estimated that during 1963 there was an influx of 3400 tourists.:n Guests of the lodges on Great Bear Lake were reported to have taken about 350,000 lb of sport fish. Gross expenditure by visitors to the Territories was estimated at about 1 million dollars.

Benefits accruing to residents from sport fishing arose from employment as guides and from other work. The extent of such benefits is unknown since there were no regulatory requirements for the employment of local residents as guides and for other camp activities. There was no information regarding the magnitude of earnings by local residents from tourist expenditures on locally produced raw fur, handicrafts, and carvings.

FACTORS AFFECTING FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

The District Supervisor, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Hay River, in his 1963 report noted that the following factors impeded progress in the sport fishing industry:

30J. J. Keleher. A Survey of Great Slave Lake Fishing. North, Vol. XIII (1), Ottawa, January-February, 1966, p. 50-53. BIG. Abrahamson. A Working Paper on Freshwater Fisheries Development in the North­ west Territories, Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Ottawa, 1964.

62 1) limited accessibility by road to many of the better sport fishing locations restricted the number of tourists;

2) the necessity of using aircraft to reach fishing grounds made sport fishing expensive and sometimes unattractive to many tourists;

3 ) great distances had to be covered before even jumping-off points to fish­ ing grounds were reached;

4 ) costs were high for the limited lodging facilities available;

5 ) because sport fishing was mainly carried out during June-September, the related employment and other economic activities had to be concentrated in a very short season.

63

APPENDIX A

COMMERCIAL FISHING IN THE DISTRICT OF KEEWATIN

Historical data on the development of the District of Keewatin fishery35 are scant. Three lakes appear to have been important; Nueltin and Windy, which lie in Control Area 8, and Kasba, which lies in Control Area 7. Kasba Lake was opened for fishing in 1962-63 and data on the number of licensed fishermen were available for 1962-63 and 1963-64. Nueltin and Windy lakes were opened for fishing in December 1963, and have been fished ever since. Appendix Tables I and II indicate numbers of fishermen and catch, by species, for 1963-64. No data were available for landings on Kasba Lake.

Fish from these lakes were shipped to five buying companies in Winnipeg and one in Montreal by three independent agents at Lynn Lake, Man. These agents negotiated with fishermen, transported them into the District, financed their opera­ tions, bought and assembled the fish and shipped them by rail to the companies in Winnipeg. They shipped whitefish and trout by air to Montreal. No information was obtained on the nature of arrangements between the buying companies and their agents.

Licenses to fish on these lakes were issued only to nonresidents. For 1962-63, five fishermen were licensed to operate on Kasba Lake to fish for whitefish and trout and six were similarly licensed for 1963-64. In 1963-64, six licensed fisher­ men operated on Nueltin Lake; one of these was also licensed for Windy Lake. In 1964-65, 12 fishermen were licensed to operate on Nueltin, of whom 6 were also licensed to fish Windy, in addition to 2 fishermen licensed for the latter lake only. The 1964-65 licensees were different from those in 1963-64. Four licensees came from Saskatchewan during 1963-64 but in 1964-65 only one from that province was licensed. All others in both years were from Manitoba, mostly from Lynn Lake and Brochet.

Whitefish and trout constituted almost the total catch of fish on Nueltin and Windy in 1963-64. Nueltin Lake produced a total of about 295,000 lb of dressed fish, of which approximately 153,000 lb was trout and the balance mainly whitefish.

:J5Licensing data were obtained from Department of Fisheries of Canada, Winnipeg; data on catch and shipments were obtained from Manitoba Department of Mines and Natural Resources.

65 ApPENDIX TABLE I. Monthly fishproduction by species, dressed weight, Nueltin Lake, District of Keewatin, N.W.T., December 1963 to December 1964."

Total Whitefish Trout whitefish Medium Large Jumbo Head on Headless and trout (lb) (lb) (lb) (lb) (lb) (lb) December 1963 787 645 2,770 1,804 368 6,3741> January 1964 85 50 1,456 1,109 235 2,935 February 20 40 245 95 15 415 March April May June July 2,830 6,869 33,672 8,357 24,699 76,427 August 6,588 15,413 48,505 10,027 66,185 146,718c September 1,440 2,061 8,346 26,503 22,802 61,152 October 70 180 1,005 128 1,383 November December Total: 11,820 25,078 95,174 48,900 114,432 295,404<1 Round Weight: 13,948 29,592 112,305 58,680 191,101 405,626 Quota: 754,483 aBased on shipping bills from Lynn Lake, Man. blncludes 8 Ib of dressed pickerel.

ApPENDIX TABLE II. Monthly fish production by species, dressed weight, Windy Lake, District of Keewatin, N.W.T., December 1963 to December 1964.n

Total Whitefish Trout whitefish Medium Large Jumbo Head on Headless and trout (lb) (lb) (lb) (lb) (lb) (Ib) December 1963 60 81 480 310 260 1,191 January 1964 138 239 1,359 611 884 3,23 1 February 71 346 206 200 823 March 20 76 65 7 168 April May June July August 875 4,320 737 1,253 7,185b September 782 2,209 19.415 6,455 2,406 31,267 October 859 2.186 11.142 3.032 1,523 18,742 November 357 738 1.930 903 287 4,215 December 1.833 3.204 1,333 3,507 365 10,242c Total: 4,120 9,608 40,390 15.768 7,178 77,064d Round Weight: 4,862 11.337 47,660 20,814 12,561 97,234 Quota: 104,858 aBased on shipping bills from Lynn Lake, Man. blncludes 31 lb of dressed pickerel.

66 This catch converted to round weight represented about 406,000 lb. The quota for the lake (754,000 lb) was, therefore, not taken.

The total dressed weight of fish caught on Windy Lake in 1963-64 was slightly over 77,000 lb. This was equivalent to just over 97,000 lb round weight, compared with a quota of 105,000 lb, round weight. Thus, as was the case on Nueltin, total landings on Windy Lake fell short of the quota. Total catch of whitefish (dressed weight) on Windy was more than twice as large as that for trout.

67 APPENDIX B Commercial landings (Ib round weight), landed values ($), and quotas (Ib), by seasons and species, lakes other than Great Slave, District of Mac­ kenzie, winter 1957-58 to winter 1963-64." (Landings, values and quotas are given in that order throughout.)

Season and year Lake Whitefish Lake trout Pike Pickerel Total Season and year Lake Wh itefish Lake trout Pike Pickerel Total

Winter 1957-58 Kakisa 11,404 11,404 Summer 1960 Kakisa 5,188 55 ,024 60,212 1,483 1,483 214 7,264 7,478

2,47 1 3,630 6,101 Summer 1958 Kakisa I MacDonald 08�657108,0571; 683 8,401 8,401 247 436 65 ,906 65 ,906 Nonacho 1,030 4,036 5,066 Tathlina 5,379 113 472 585 5,379 21 800" Winter Thuban 4,924 16,839 1958- 59 Kakisa 5, 130 5, 130 296 1,347 1 : 646.1 770 770 Trefiak 23 ,314 23,314 Nonacho 3,816 9,698 13,514 1,865 1,865 591 1,940 2,531

Tathlina 1,980 8,280 10,260 1,337 95 1,242 Winter 1960- 61 Chedabucto 4,694 16 4,710 990 I 991 '" Summer 1959 Kakisa 11,243- 70,607 81 ,850 00 337 9,885 10,222 Kakisa 1,005 1,005 80 80 Nonacho 25.360 28,761 54 ,121 1,521 1,726 3,247 Keller 25 ,537 19,463 45 , 000 3,830 3,309 7,139 Stark 6,635 17,523 200 24 ,358 664 1,752 6 2,422 MacDonald 1,120 1,107 2,227 168 223 39 1 Tathlina 6,214 6,214 870 870 MacEwan 1,696 188 1,884 245 32 277 Winter 1959�-Johnston 37 2,925 2,962 6 439 445 Tathlina 55 ,748 55 ,748 7,000 4,648 4,648 Kakisa 1,130 1, 130 1,18 136 136 Trefiak 1,180 0 94 94 MacEwan 4,868 50 103 5,021 998 3 15 1,016

Reade 1,684 1,780 255 3,719 Summer 1961 Kakisa 16,268 39 ,414 55, 682 429 89 68 586 474 3,083 3,557

Tathlina 2,800 92,028 94,828 MacDonald 23 ,721 21 ,973 7 45,701 255 14,548 14,803 1,424 1,758 3,182

Tsu 378 1,311 310 333 2,332 Thuban 3,131 8,052 11,183 80 223 15 53 371 188 644 832 Winter 1961-62 Faber 992 6,270 7,262 Winter 1963�-64 Basler 1,412 17, 109 18,521 127 1,540 1,667

Keller 56,808 34, 117 181 91,106 Blaisdell 1,306 144 1,450 II ,846 7,263 32 19, 141 118 13 131 11,000 Stc. Therese 655 1,101 1,756 164 385 549 Desperation 5,300 4,704 10,004 477 423 900 Tathlina 16, 118 16,118 20, 170 1,45 1 1,45 1 Gordon 62,254 46,895 109,149 5,603 4,220 9,823 Thckulthili 47 ,059 70,004 235 117,298 143,054 4,707 8,285 2 12,994 Hidden 2,583 1,568 4, 151 181 ,440 233 141 374 Su m�-�r-1962---- Gagnon 19,023 24 ,621 16,506" 2,283 3,693 � .�� ------;0,6«-5,976 Hottah 25 1,301 110,208 361 ,817' 24,486 11,170 35 ,68\ Nonacho 61 1 1,670 2,281 1,238,400 73 25 1 324 42 1,440 Indin 104 104 Thuban 22 ,141 32, 129 54 ,270 9 9 1,771 3,213 4,984 115,542 122,880 Ingray 2,046 10,631 12,677 Winter 1962-63 Grandin 77 , 623 30,033 852 108,5 184 957 1,141 7,902 3,003 128 11,03308 113,664 240, 000 Johnson 1,470 1,470 Keller 43,308 19,782 644 63 , 734 118 118 0\ 8,662 4, 154 109 12,925 7,000 \0 300,000 Stc. Therese 5,178 5,607 36,903 47 , 687 Mosher 1,145 2,286 3,431 518 561 5,535 6,614 103 183 286 89 ,856 14,800 Tathlina 35,019 35,019 Plante 2,727 1,900 162 4,789 6,780 6,780 327 228 24 579 67 ,000 7,000 Thuban 1,325 4,957 6,282 106 496 602 Reid 250 143 393 122,880 22 13 35 Summer 1963 Gagnon 5,363 11,232 16,598 10,000 15,239 82,500 Ross 6,827 22,066 1,372 614 1,986 Grandin 68 , 270 68 ,476 136,746 7,509 6,848 14,357 23,842 240,000 Tathlina 1,035 13,674 14,709 Tathlina 1,804 32 ,195 33,999 62 2,735 2,797 ISO 3,219 3,399 67 ,000 67 ,000 Thuban 3,180 26,561 29 ,744 Victory 710 35 1 1,06 1 159 2, 125 2,285 64 32 96 122,880 II ,004

nBased on office files, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Hay River, and Economics Service, Department of Fisheries of Canada, Ottawa. bThe dashes (-) indicate no record. elncludes 37 lb of Inconnu. "Includes $3 landed value of Inconnu. 'Includes 308 Ib of Inconnu. IInciudes $25 landed value of Inconnu. APPENDIX C

FIRM'S COPY 1

ACCOUNT FISH

COMPANY NAME

BOAT OR LICEN9f!: NO. DATE

AREA 0" NAME CATCH

NO. OF ADDRESS MEN

WEIGHT SPECIES AND FORMS PRICE AMOUNT

WHITEFISH frosh Rd.

WHITEFISH Fresh Dr.

WHITEFISH FroIon Rd.

WHITEFISH FroIon Dr.

TROUT Frosh Rd.

TROUT Frosh Dr.

TROUT Fresh Dr. Hdls.

TROUT Frozen Rd.

TROUT Frozon Dr.

TROUT Frozon Dr. Hdll,

INCONNU Fs. Dr. Hdls. ..- - ---

INCONNU Frozen Or. Hdls.

PIKE Fresh-

PIKE Frozon·

PICKEREL Fresh- .---�--���.

PICKEREL Fro:lCn* -_._-- ---.

CULLS

._., ---- ._--

---. - ---

-----. ------1= I - B 15154 TOTAL CAMP TALLY� I MAN RECEIVED PAY MENT

70 WINTER ROAD MACKENZIE HIGHWAY BRANCH fROM FT. PROVIDENCE TO RAE TO YELLOWKNIFE

RAILWAY FROM GRIMSHAW ALBERTA TO HAY RiVER WITH BRANCH TO PINE POI NT

� CLOSE D TO (OMMER CIAL FISHING ?::- ==;:==:::;:/t;:7----______TT :::;-_�"�6 '�r'�O '------"(

! ! !

IV �NDINL III 1966-67 1964- 65

JDHtisro� L GORDO" L /l b D"""" Lr L r:;SlAISDflt L ROSS L 1'J "VJICTORY � hll1"ONAlHO L V f/i 1962- 63 I 1966-67 FORT PROVIDE NCE

YUKON TERRI TORY 1964-65 60Q__ I

Control areas for commercial fishing, districts of Mackenzie (I-VII) and Keewatin (VII and VIII), Northwest Territories. The years shown for each control area indicate when com­ mercial fishing was or was to be opened on the lakes. Repro duced from 1: 1,000,000 map, Surveys and Mapping Branch, Canada Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Ottawa.