FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE
Translation Series No. 4197
The fishery potential of New Quebec
by G. Power and R. Le Jeune
Cririnal title: Le pôtentiel.de pêche du NouVeau-Québec
From: Cah. Geogr. Que. 20(50): 409-428, 1976
• Translated by the Translation Section Departuumt of the Environment
DepartiDent of the Environnent Fisheries a,nd Marine Service Biological Station • St. John's, Nfld.
1978
24 pares tyFescript Td)- 1528830
p. 409.1
/1-) n I CAHIERS DE GEOGRAPHIE DE QUEBEC,
Vol. 20, No. 50, September 1976, pp. 409-428
THE FISHERY POTENTIAL OF NEW QUEBEC *
by
Geoffrey Power and Roger Le Jeune
Center for Northern Studies,
Laval University, Quebec.
The area covered by this article, known as the New Quebec Territory,
comprises vast, little-known regions with a variety of facies, surrounded by
'Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay. The territory contains several
long rivers, many large lakes, and countless smalerivers, lakes, brooks,
and ponds. The large number of fish species in these waters constituted
a reliable food source for the native peoples who settled this country after
the last ice age.
Over the past three centuries, the contacts of these peoples with
European cultures upset relations between fish and man. New and more efficient
gear gained populalarity with American Indians and fish became a subject of
trade and commerce. The rate of these changes was-considerably accelerated
during the last quarter century by the widespread use of synthetic fibers
in fishing gear and the expansion of aerial transport in New Quebec. During
the 1950s, prospecting missions financed by the Canadian government prepared ililiZA-11m+ inventories of the Territory's fish resources; this led to the esta-
blishment of several industrial fishing enterprises, with unequal success
and a number of quick failures. At the same time, the growing southern demand
for sport fishing brought about a summer migration to northern waters and
led to the establishment of reception facilities for the thousands of sport -- w fishermen participating in this northern journey. Energy and eiele- needs,a-e 'ee
4g(A 1?he past and present attempts at establishing facilities to meet these
needs also contribute more or less directly, but nevertheless significantly, / 1528836 2,
p. 409.2
to changing the context of fish resource ?,and increasing the pressures
on these resources. The recent Agreement between the Cree, the Inuit, and the
Canada and Quebec governments led to a realization of the need to limit these
pressures and, particularly, to rationalize their distribution.
We felt that an evaluation of past and present resource uses and an attempt at forecasting their possible future role might be a useful contribution to this rationaliza,tion.
* This essay was written between May and August 1976, i.e. prior to the submission of a voluminous report on yr recent harvesting; largely superior to the estimate melle here of fish resource use in the continental and coastal . ) (1„.- waters ot Newiffli éCve -Thus none of the eemeia-t,s.l ôf . the said report were used by the authors of this study) orrinf1uence711 in any wayl their appreciation and treatment.of the statistics and their opinions on the past, the present cuaLete, and the future. This does not mean'Tfiitnlbeqeâa-e-pt or reject the work of the Native Harvesting Research Committee, but only that they reserve the right to comment until they have had a chance to examine it in detail. See Research to establish present levels of harvesting by native peoples of northern Quebec,
Il-Inuit. The Native Harvesting Research Committee, 1976, 230 pages, app. 3 1528836 1. , p. 410.1
Nature and Size of Resources
The available documentation and information at our disposal cover
marine, anadromous and freshwater forms, but are not complete enough to
allow for more than a very rough estimate of the fish resources of New Quebec.
Concerning marine species, the arctic nature of the coastal waters
eliminates the possibility of major industrial fisheries. This conclusion
stems from the low productivity of these waters, which was brought to light
by a small number of concordant observations covering large areas of water
in Ungava Bay (Dunbar, 1952; Dunbar and Hildebrand, 1952), James Bay 4nd
Hudson Bay (Hunter, 1968), and the entire North American marine arctic (Dunbar,
1970). A few marine species (capeliri, cod), may be worthy of attention; however,
they are unable to stand up to even a cursory analysis of their possibilities.
T4eleape1in (Mallotus villosus) is abundant in James Bay and along the southern
coast of Hudson Bay, and is ocCasionally (Le Jeune, 1963) found in Ungava Bay.
This small fish, which supplements the native diet along the western coast
of Hudson Bay (Hunter, 1968), could only be marketed commercially in the form
of fish meal or fertilizer (Dunbar, 1970). Spence (1972) does not include
the capelin in his list of fish used by the Fort George Cree population, though
it is found in the area.
Greenland cod (Gadus ogac) is also found in these waters; this
small, slow-growing fish, however, does not seem abundant anywhere. It is
generally included in smallvameents in domestic fisheries and has never been
the subject of an industrial fishery, unlike the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua),
which is harvested to some extent at the end of summer in the Killiniq area,
where the arctic waters of Hudson Strait encounter the Atlantic. This commercial
fishery was established as an experiment in 1950 (Dunbar, 1952) and was still
operating in 1970, with three traps and a freezer (Dunbar, 1970). Offshore
expansion projects involving cod and Greenland halibut were planned, but never
carried out.
It is not surprising, in view of this lack of great promise,
that nc attempts have been made to estimate the offshore fishery potential
of the seas surrounding the New Quebec Territory. 1528836 Li"
p. 411.1
The picture is different in the case of anadromous fish. During
the summer, these species are generally found at sea, where their prospects
are no brighter than those of marine species; during the spring and fall migrations, however, they congregate in the often very rich feeding grounds
along the coast ard in river estuaries. This behaviour greatly facilitiates
harvesting by the Inuit and other native peoples as a traditional food source and within the context of commercial or industrial enterprises. At least five'species may be included in this category in New Quebec: the arctic char
(Salvelinus salvelinus or alpinus), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), and
the lake herring (Coregonus artedii), with a few unimportant forms occasionally found in briny water.
The five species listed above belong to the Salmonidae family.
The first three are more abundant in Ungava Bay, the latter three may be found in large numbers in James Bay and the southern part of Hudson Bay, while the arctic char is common in the northern Hudson region (Bay and Strait).
Added to the traditional importance of these species in the native diet is a commercial interest, particularly over the past thirty years, largely based on export trade.
There are no overall actual or potehtial harvesting estimates for these species, since only a small number of recent statistics (less than
20 years) and a few specific studies attempted during the last two decades are available. The coastal, littoral and estuarine environments are poorly suited for such estimates, which should take into account continental elements often acting as limiting or disturbing factors: restricted winter habitat
(lakes and water courses), limited spawning grounds (specificity, accessibility), restricted stocking grounds (food, protection), irregular water and climate regimes, etc. . ., not to mention fishing itself in both marine and continental waters.
Exercises of this type should be more straightforward for freshwater fish; in the New Quebec Territory, several species are attractive to man because of their abundance or specific qualities. Lakes are mostly inhabited by whitefish, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), arctic char, suckers (Catastomus 1528836
p. 411.2/412.1
catastomus), northern pike (Esox lucius), and the burbot (Lota iota).
Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and walleye (Stizostedicn vitreum) are also found in Radisson /Country (the James Bay Region). Many representatives of these species are found in rivers and streams along with brook trout and round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum).
Our admitted inability to etablish the fishery potential of marine and anadromous species does not apply to freshwater fish and we feel e,L,e_eLt safe in making a few estimates based on available afe4a1.4-, hydrological, biological, and statistical data and the knowledge placed at our disposal by tradition, documentation and experience to back up and rationalize retroactive or prospective extrapolations.
The combined surface area of the James Bay, Ungava Bay and Hudson
Bay drainage basins is 876,000 square kilometers, approximately one third of which is covered by Water. Assuming that three quarters of this third is 2 suitable for fish, the productive area would cover an estimated 219,000 km .
Scientific documentation abounds in production estimate bases for both real values and extrapolated estimates. For instance, with regard to the area of study and neighbouring sectors, Hunter (1968) lists an annual fish production of 320 pounds per square mile, which is attributed to the James Eay/Hudson Bay area for the purpose of fish resource management, without mentioning his sources. Parsons (1975), using Ryder's morphoedaphic inded (1965), estimated (.±:vralty7) fishery potentials for the Smallwood Reservoir (2.23 kg/ha/yr) an en Mile
Lake (2.64 kg/ha/yr) in central Labrador. These local estimates and others are listed in Table 1 along with the corresponding extrapolations for New
Quebec as a whole. The figures thus obtained are beyond reach...since all waters cannot be subject to a maximum potential kRxxest yield fishincLeffort
(or its equivalent, the stock renewal capacity); therefore, in concrete terms, the New Quebec freshwater fish reserves remain virtually untapped. 1 528836 ID
p. 412.2
TABLE 1
Estimated annual freshwater fish resource renewal
potential in New Quebec related to various local estimates.
Locations (sources) Potential (p) or Correspondence for real (r) renewal New Quebec (kg/ha/yr) (kg/yr) x 107
Ten Mile Lake (1) 2.64 (p) 5.8
Smallwood Reservoir (1) 2.23 (p) 4.9
James Bay & Hudson Bay (2) 0.56 (p) 1.2
Great Slave Lake NWT (3) 1.61 (r) 3.5
Athabaska Lake, Alta-Sask. (3) 1.68 (r) 3.7
Reindeer Lake, Sask. (3) 2.24 (r) 4.9
Lake Nipigon, Ont. (3) 1.20 (0 2.6
Wollaston Lake, Sask. (3) 2.24 (r) 4.9
Cree Lake, Sask. (3) 2.24 (r) 4.9
(1) Parsons, 1975; (2) Hunter, 1968; (3) Ryder, 1965. 1528836 7
p. 413.1
Subsistence Fishery and Domestic Fishery
Both these expressions apply to the capture of fish for personel
or family consumption, as opposed to fishing for sale or trade. For the purpose
of this study, however, a subsistençe fishery is one that uses traditional
native techniques, while a domestic fishery uses recently introduced and
generally more effective methods and gear. gm.
Obviously, there are no statistics available on subsistence fisheries
in ancient times. At most, we may deduce from the distribution of species,
human settlements and the gear in use at that time that the Inuit, who inhabited
the saltwater coasts, probably harvested enadromous species, particularly
arctic char, while the Indian tribes, basically forest-dwellers, fished
mainly in continental waters. To a great extent, the structure and behaviour
of northern fish stocks were favourable to the native peoples.
Most etf--eleFe- species have a varied diet, based on opportunism rather
than selection; thus they will eat anything "tetcy ea4 getHM their
unless the size of the prey demands respect. In fresh water, the fish are generally
insectivorous; however, they will often eat small fish and, occasionally,
even small birds, mice and lemmings. At sea, shellfish, worms and fish form
the basis of an omnivorous diet which exposes them to capture in wee eays:
hooks, lures, etc. .
Many species migrate and congregate in certain areas for some time
to feed (brook trout, in rapids during the summer) or reproduce (suckers, pike
during the spring; whitefish and char in the fall). The seasonal movements
of anadromous fish between fresh and salt water make them vulnerable in the
estuaries and beyond.
The most effective harvesting tool used by New Quebec inhabitants
is the net. It is not known how long nets have been in use here, but Moussette
(1973), who conducted a study of fishing methods used by North American Indians,
believes that nets were used in the Great Lakes Region and the St. Lawrence
Valley before the arrival of European explorers. We may presume that this fishing technique was also known to a few northern native groups and that, 1 528836
p. 413.2/414.1
even though the gear made from wood fibres, leather thongs or gut was undoubtedly shorter and less effective than our modern cotton and nylon nets, it was sufficient to ensure the subsistence of small family groups.
The harvesting done at that time with these primitive instruments had little effect on fish stocks; thus the continued main causes of fish mortality were predation, illness and senility (natural death), rather than harvesting for consumption. A large portion of the biomass of these stably balanced stocks was made up of old and large, slow-growing fish, taking readily to bait and easily caught with harpcons or crude nets; also their relativelv large size made them attractive as a human food source.
The gradual spread of European techniques throughout North America, in the form of metal hooks and fine cotton and hemp fibres, improved the efficiency of fishing efforts and there is little doubt that this new capability reduced nomadic tendencies among native peoples and contributed to the formation of social cells expanded beyond the normal family boundaries. The result was a punctual intensification of fishing and the identification of favourable periods and locations. Thus, despite their conversion to the assimilation of foodstuffs borrowed from the European invaders, the natives continued to draw the bulk of their protein rations from animal resources in the environment through both hunting and fishing.
The passage from a subsistence fishery to a domestic fishery, the causes and effects of which are briefly described in the above, did not lead to the establishment of a fish harvest inventory system, of course, and rit„A realization was made during negotiations between the James Bay native peoples and the Quebec government, which led to,the drafting of the James Bay and
Northern Quebec Agreement.
The Cree Indians tried to base their arguments on an estimate of their use of environmental resources, including fish. The results obtained are summarized in an essay by Spence et al. (1972), who collected information through random interviews and by means of in-depth questionnaires. Some available documentation and author observations were added to these enquiries. 1 528836
p. 414.2/415.1
To avoid tampering, the results from various sources were not • or
otherwise made comparable or assimilable. Thus we had to make realignments (AIL, and adjustments - . • --a—ede—yea.r—ba-s-i-s- (Table 2‘
us to supply a few jes-ti-f-ei-mg- explanations and appropriate comments.
The values declared by Spence for Eastmain and Wemindji were for
a period of fifteen months, including two summers. We cut these projections
by one third, presuming that the fishing yield for one summer is more or less
equal to the yield for the rest of the year.
Saladin (1966, unpublished, reported by Morissonneau, 1973), during
a one-year study of the diet ofYkangirsujjuaq (Maricourt, Wakeham) Inuit, estimated
the average adult's daily fish consumption at 40.5 grams. We converted this figure into a fresh fish equivalent by making 20% weight increase to account for evisceration, then a 50% increase to cover losses between capture and
ingurgitation (desiccation, beheading, putrefaction, dog food).
TABLE 2
Estimated domestic fishery production
in a few specific areas of New Quebec.
Settlement Catches Documentary
(period) (in kilograms per Source inhabitant per year)
Fort George 44.2 Spence et al. (June 1971 to May 1972) (1972)
Eastmain 21.5 Idem (June 1971 to August 1972)
Wemindji or Nouveau-Comptoir 39.5 Idem (June 1971 to August 1972)
Nichicun 54.4 Idem (1969-1970)
Maricourt or Wakeham or 26.6 Saladin (1966) Kangirsujjuaq (1965-1966) 1528836 / a
p. 415.2/416.1
The consumption at Nichicun seems high in relation to the other
areas listed in Table 2, particularly by comparison with Fort George, which
has a large stock of anadromous whitefish in the Grande River estuary. There
is no way of telling which of these two projections is questionable; in any
-rvt, v-C-f- case, . . . .ab1e ' the wide margin for
error inherent to these estimates. However, as things now stand, the figures
in Table 2 are sufficiently plausible to indicate that the Inuit probably
consume less fish than the Indians in the James Bay Region.
By comparison, a recent study (Lombard, 1975) of fish resources
in northeastern Manitoba allowed us to establish that the annual per capita
fish consumption in native settlements along the Churchill and Nelson Rivers
varies from 11.6 to 36.E kilograms. These human settlements are probably
less socially traditional than those in the New Quebec Territory and, thus,
less dependent on proximal food sources; this would tend to explain the lower
consumption of fish in particular.
For New Quebec as a whole, we propose an estimated annual per capita
domestic consumption of 40f15 kg for Indians and 27 4 10 kg for the Inuit.
Based on date supplied by the Indian and Northern Affairs Department (INA,
Quebec Regional Office), we estimated the 1973 domestic fishery at 377,000'1"
141,000 kg,(132,600of whicwere attributed to the North American Indians
in the southern part of New Quebec (Mistassini, Fort Rupert and Waswanipi).
These landings, the cash value of which is well over a million dollars, may seem staggeringly high -- but they barely correspond to one hundr& of
the annual freshwater harvest we feel the New Quebec Territory could support.
Industrial Fishery
While we are often unable to establish a clear distinction between
the subsistence fishery and the domestic fishery, the same holds true for the
latter in relation to the industrial fisheny, which often absorbs it.
The inhabitants of the first trading posts were quick to perceive
the importance of fish, since they often could not have survived without it;
similarly, it was impossible to travel at that time and long afterward, without 1528836 II
p. 416.2
fishing for food. Thus fishing gear was necessarily part of the merchandise
offered by the Hudson Bay Company and other traders. The effectiveness of
this_gear allowed the natives to devote more time and effort to the trapping
of fur-bearing animals, which were of very high commercial value but not
always suitable for eating. Therefore, for a long time, fishing indirectly
supported other activities, through individual or family accumulation or
in trade for products, before itself becoming a specifically profitable
operation.
The turning point came in 1867, when the harnessing and pollution
of the rivers in England caused by the industrial revolution and rapid demographic
growth led to a drastic reduction in salmon stocks and a rise in salmon prices.
The Hudson Bay Company then started (Power, 1976) an industrial salmon fishery
in the Koksoak River estuary, downstream from the village of Kujjuaq (Fort-
Chimo). Similar operations, some of which still exist, were launched at the
same time and later in Labrador. Elsewhere in New Quebec, arctic char
fishing was also practiced and, in the oast fifteen years, this species has
eclipsed the salmon in commercial importance.
The arctic char is often referred to as "Hearne's salmon" in old writings; in tim Labrador, it came to be known as the seatrout (Andrews and
Lear, 1956). These were undoubtedly deliberate attempts by businessmen to
boost the sales of a fish that does not keep as well as Atlantic salmon.
Similarly, around 1963, the brook trout in the Richmond Gulf (Lake Guillaume-
Delisle) was marketed under the name of seatrout to get around a ban in the
Quebec Fisheries Act (Le Jeune, 1964, a). 1 528836
p. 417.1
In the years immediately following World Warj jobs were scarce
in northern Quebec and the natives had to fall back onto their traditional
resources within a climate of socio-econoric disaster. The amount of direct
social assistance poured into. the region byjategovernment bétween 1945 and 1960
reached alarming levels, forcing the federal Indian and Northern Affairs Department
(In()to take major corrective action. Interesting renewable resource development
projects were planned, the need and value of which had been marvellously foreseen
and analyzed by Dunbar (1952). Thus, starting in 1959, the Department encouraged
the arctic char fishery on the edge of Ungava Bay, while leading a campaign
to enhance the culinary and gastronomic value of this fish. Unfortunately,
these undertakings were launched on the basis of rather makeshift resource
estimates and without sufficient knowledge of the ethelogy and regenerating
potential of the species. The works of Le Jeune (1967, 1968) contain some
elements of knowledge that were then lacking, statistics covering the years
1959 to 1967, and a critical analysis of the activities undertaken during this
period and their results.
In 1961, INA revived the industrial salmon fishery in the Koksoak
and Whale Rivers, which had been abandonned by the Hudson Bay Company in
1939 • Power, 1961); the Department also encouraged fishing in Richmond Gulf
(Lake Guillaume-Delisle), i.e. anadromous brook trout, whitefish, lake herring
and arctic char, from 1962 to 1964 (Le Jeune, 1964a) and in Lake Mistassini
(lake trout, whitefish, walleye) from 1961, among other bodies of water
(Le Jeune, 1964 b, c). Table 3 groups statistics from several sources to
provide some idea of the extent of the fishing efforts, their distribution
and the poor results obtained. The fishery focused mainly on anadromous fish
and arctic char stocks were particularly affected.
As far as we can judge, anadromous fish landings peaked in 1963
(about 50 metric tons). The market value of these catches was about $150,000,
approximately only one fifth of which was returned to the fishermen. For
instance, at Fort-Chimo in 1961, fishermen received only 19% of the retail
value of the salmon they produced, with another fraction (3 to 4%) remaining
in the area in the form of wages for cleaning and packing. Processors made
between $100 and $400 dollars for a 4-to 5-week fiching season; this points
out the characteristics common to all northern fisheries: the unequal distribution
13 1528836
p. 418.1
TABLE 3
Conspectus of the Industrial Fishery in New Quebec
Location Period Catches (in kg/yr') *Sources
Salmon Arctic Others Char
Port-Nouveau-Quebec 1894-1915 8,750 Power (1976) (Kangirsualujjuaq 1959-1961 1,200 9,300 Le Jeune (1968) or George River) 1962-1971 4,400 Le Jeune (unpub.)
Whale River 1894-1915 5,200 Power (1976) (Fleuve de la Baleine, 1961-1967 2,800 550 Le Jeune (1968) Ungava)
Koksoak 1914-1915 7,150 Power (1976) (Fort-Chimo or Kujjuaq) 1961-1969 8,400 800 Power (unpub.) Le Jeune (1968)
Leaf Lake 1962-1966 11,200 Le Jeune (1968) (Tasiujaq or Lac-des- 1969-1971 9,000 Le Jeune (unpub.) Feuilles)
Arnaud River 1963-1967 12,000 Le Jeune (1968) (Kangirsu or Bellin of Payne)
Richmond Gulf 1962-1964 1,360 7,400 Le Jeune (1964a) (Tasiujaq or Lake Guillaume-Delisle)
Lake Mistassini 1961-1965 30,000 Le Jeune (pers. comm.)
Lakes Matagami, 1961-1963 10,000 Le Jeune (pers. Goéland, Evans, etc. comm.) / 1528836
p. 418:1_
of profits and the minimal average income. A bipartite task force (Canada --
Northwest Territories, 1972) drew attention to these anomalies in examining the problems . of the Great Slave Lake fishery, the value of which approached a million dollars in 1970. The task force noted that the mean gross income of 184 fishermen was $4,901, that 114 fishermen made less than $2,000 and that
33 fishermen made over $10,000, the latter amount being considered the minimum for a professional fisherman in this area. Obviously, there were too many
fishermen and, for most pi them, the fishery was nothing more than a poor temporary or occasional substitute for social welfare benefits. This . Adirref3,4=yreeer_:3..e,st-1. is apparently a frequent dilemma in collective aârdin 1968), the solution to which is not immediately apparent in the North, where the natives perceive natural resources as an undeniable legacy accessible to all. The problem is further complicated by very high transportation and marketing costs, not to mention the total lack of development funds. Trade between villages and local consumption are the natural mainstays of a harmonious economic system, but the lack of salaried jobs has led to a chronic shortage of . the ready cash needed to make the system work. It is to be hoped, however, that the cooperative system established less than twenty years ago will be able to alleviate the situation to some degree. Village co-ops, more and more, are acting as the commercial agents for local products. This creates a tendency for processors to specialize in certain areas and increases cash flow for the payment of equipment and consumer goods. As long as surplus harvests, in relation to immediate needs, are made possible by the condition of the resources themselves or the regulations in force, and as long as temporary conservation or reserve facilities are available and accessible, this process holds somewhat of an advantage over the traditional autoconsumer economy. It does, however, raise certain legal questions because of the Canadian and Quebec bans on trade in certain species; but, as we shall see, these objections could be eliminated. 1 528836
p. 419.1
Concerning the industrial fishery in arctic regions, the» restrictions
are often based on the legislation in force to the south; this situation stems
from the fact that the mysteries surrounding patently northern biological processes
are far from being_ solved. Three examples of this are: a) the low growth
rate, which retards the age of sexual maturity; h) the reduced frequency of
participation in spawning (one season in two or more years); c) the increased
longevity of most species. Moreover, the post-spawning recovery period often
lasts one year or more, during which time the fish is unsuitable for harvesting,
and the annual production of the stocks in question is generally low in relation
to their biomass. Thus, even though there arâlequantities of fish in
the untapped northern waters, the amount that may be harvested without affecting
the demographic pyramid is surprisingly low, as demonstrated by the rapid
collapse of several intensive fisheries established between 1959 and 1965
(Le Jeune, 1968), and before and after, around the e4ge-of New Quebec. The
entire picture is further complicated by the interactions between species
sharing similar ecological requirements, the continued existence of which
depends largely on a permanent balance in one or more hydrographic basins,
with sport fishing appearing as a factor of undeniable influence.
Sport Fishing
Like the Inuit and native Indians, the European settlers and their
descendants inhabiting the New Quebec Territory or travelling through it
for professional or other reasons practied subsistence fishing; sport fishing
only became popular in the territory during the last quarter century, with
the establishment and development of an adequate transportatjon network.
The initial impulse came during the post-war period, when the
American military bases at Fort-Chimo (1942-1948) and Poste-de-la-Baleine
(1954-1964) successively became Canadian, then civilian, and companies tooK
advantage of the availability of inexpensive airplanes and the abundance of military pilots to open up huge, previously inviolate, areas of the northland.
The military influence cannot be overlooked, since it was members of the
armed forces, during the war years, who discovered the abundance of salmon,
arctic char and brook trout in northern waters. Many of these men later returned • 1528836 I L.
p. 420.1
to practice sport fishing and one of them settled on the George (Kangirsualujjuaq)
as a professional outfitter in 1956; he was the first in a group of some 30
enterprising businessmen now established in the Territory who welcome several
thousand customers each year.
The expansion problems of sport fishing in New Quebec are due to
a short season, unpredictable weather, ,a--41-delblilelec, and the extremely
high cost of living in the north. Despite everything, however, since a large
number of visitors from all walks of life have explored the Territory and
its waters beyond all administrative and scientific control, it is safe to say
that the sport fishermen's collective knowledge of these waters largely exceeds
the sum of data available to scientists, and that the massive amounts of fish
caught in these waters are largely unrecorded in official statistics. Adequate
surveillance would be much too expensive to install and, despite a recent
effort, we are unable to go beyond a statement of principles supported by
a few specific control operations. The regulations themselves are generally
based on the assumptions that the amount of pressure on fish resources is
relatively low while compensation should be provided for high fishing costs;
this invariably leads to the establishment of high catch quotas and possession
limits in relation to the productivity of the northern waters and environnent, which a growing number of visitors, particularly sport fishermen, are progressively degrading (e.g. wood cutting for encampments) and polluting (e.g. waste of all kinds).
What compensation do the inhabitants of New Quebec receive for
this exploitation of their home environment by sport fishermen? Independent fishermen arriving by air usually bring everything they need with them from
the south and leave nothing behind, in exchange for often scandalously high catches, except empty containers and other Re-t--ftr-y-stu.e.fflg traces of their
passage.
Some groups rely on lncal men and equipment (guides, boats, etc. . •), but this is not a common practice in New Quebec and provides no significant
income to the natives. The best and most often used way to have a "successful"
northern fishing trip is through an outfitter, who knows the country and the
people, supplies food and lodging and, if necessary, transportation, clothes 7 1528836
p. 421.1
and advice. Unfortunately, the natives, with little knowledge of the vacationing
ways of southerners, unaware of the value of the resources in question and,
moreover, without the individual or collective funds required to fifiânce
an outfitter, were the last to realize the potential of the environment and organize its use. Thus, with the odd exception, they hold down temporary jobs as guides and servants without access to managerial duties. They also
play the same roles in the few private clubs that control the rest of the
good fishing spots and prime hunting grounds.
The first official permits covering "club" facilities and outfitter
operations in New Quebec date back to 1965, when about a dozen organizations,
many of which (with others) had been operating for some time, stepped forward
and identified themselves (e.g. Arctic Anglers, which was founded in 1956).
A rapid expansion occured from 1965 to 1970, pushing the number of permits
up to about thirty (exactly 28 in 1974); Figure 1 shows the area of coverage
and fishing effort distribution this represents. The first native establishments
appeared during this five-year period; among these were the business set up
by the Indians in Radisson Country (James Bay Region), which received support
from the Indian and Northern Affairs Department, those of the Fort-CEimo and
Povungnituk Inuit, supported by local cooperatives, and the remarkable individual
success of an Inuk from Kangirsualujjuaq (Port-Nouveau-Qùèbec) named Willi
Imulluk on the George and Korok Rivers.
e -1-
MAJOR AND SATELLITE FISHING CAMPS IN
NEW QUEBEC (1975) I 'en.g&s
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. r • rr-• t, „ . .••••1 Ç . ,„ „, , c 1528836
p. 422.1
The attractive species are the Atlantic salmon (Georges, Whale
and Koksoak Rivers), Arctic char, brook trout and lake trout, which are widely
distributed, and the ouananiche, which may be found in certain areas. In
order to make these fish available to so-called sport fishermen, outfitters
have invested (declared value) amounts ranging from $438,000 (1965) to $1.5 million (1974).
Catches resulting from these investments may be estimated from the
voluntary declarations filed by permit-holders; omissions and inaccuracies in
these reports create a wide margin for error, however, except in the case of
salmon catches, which are usually reported fairly accurately.
Table 4 shows the total and mean annual weights listed in Quebec government files (Department of Tourism, Fish and Game) for the years 1965 to
1974 inclusive. To obtain the actual volume of catches, these figures should be weighted by coefficients we cannot even hazard a guess at, to take into account undeclared catches and pirate expeditions throughout the Territory.
It should be noted that, even without upward corrective adjustments, the volume of sport fishing salmon catches (Table 4) is comparable to that of industrial landings (Table 3); this clearly demonstretes that angling has become an effective means of catching fish and that, under certain circumstances, it is the best fishing method available, such as in torrential reaches where nets are of little use, despite the presence of large numbers of fish.
In areas where this fishery reaches a high level of intensity, such as near new outfitter camps and in renowned good fishing spots, overfishing often occurs.
A typical case is that studied by Robertson and Dowler (1973) concerning the
Tree River (Coronation Gulf, NWT) Arctic char fishery. Only the last eleven kilometers of this river are accessible to the anadromous Arctic char, yet the annual domestic fishery harvest totalled 25 metric tons of this species in both 1963 and 1964; moreover, there were 35 sport fishermen per kilometer on the river in 1964. This led to an instant collapse, with the 1965 fishery yielding just 750 fish, only one fifth of which went to domestic fishermen.
From 1966 to 1972, the latter managed annual catches of only 150 to 200 fish and the lone outfitter tolerated on the river was imposed a total quota of
500 Arctic char and a daily limit of two fish per fisherman. The recovery 1 528836
p. 423.1
was slow and difficult, with the average weight of catches declining gradually until 1968 before returning, four years later, to the 1964 level.
There is no lack of examples in Quebec, as shown in the statistics published by Le Jeune (1968) for Arctic char fisheries in rivers flowing to
Ungava Bay and, particularly, for the Georges River (Kangirsualujjuaq), where outfitters in the interior lodged complaints as early as 1960 after the harvesting of about 7,000 fish over two seasons by the industrial fishery established in the estuary the previous year. This fishery was shut down in
1962 after a third disastrous year and was reestablished only a number of years later, subject to depletion and quota restrictions that may keep it alive
tly, , at the .lof rather hazardous profits. A
These misadventures and other lessons acquired through experience lead us to believe that, because of the slow growth and great longevity of northern fish stocks, annual harvests exceeding one tenth of the biomass could not be projected without endangering the immediate recovery capacity of stocks, and that the danger point has been reached for Arctic char and lake trout stocks.
TABLE 4
Sport fishing yield in New Quebec from 1965 to 1974, as declared by authorized outfitters (in kg).
Species: Arctic char Salmon Others
YEAR Total Mean Total Mean Total Mean Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight
1965 16647 6395 1966 20048 2529 5.0 4264 1967 16828 2863 5.3 6713 1968 6441 3954 5.3 1088 1969 26671 8376 6.6 8029 1970 22906 8387 5.2 7484 1971 25084 1.8 7320 5.2 6577 2.4 1972 9117 1.3 10103 5.2 6169 1.9 1973 6622 0.7 11088 5.3 9798 2.0 1974 12474 1.3 9445 5.3 6758 2.5 o
• 1111 1528836
p. 424.1
The rule of thumb used by the Tourism Branch of the Northwest
Territories Administration in these matters consists of associating a length
of shoreline to the customer capacity of outfitters (4 kilometers per bed
annually) in accordance with the recommendations of a task force (1972).
Thus the location of camps and the fishing effort are distributed to make
overfishing improbable, if not impossible. In Manitoba, restrictions are 2 based on a minimum area (1 to 2 Igm per fisherman) and the recognition of
a fishing potential subject to later examination (Lombard, 1975). The frequenting
density here is 5 or 6 times that allowed by the Territories, but it should
be noted that Manitoba clearly enjoys the advantage with regard to climate
and productivity.
Quebec has never enacted guidelines in this area; however, should
it ever decide, to do so, the criteria should reflect the characteristics and
precariousness of the aquatic resource potential of a region such as New
Quebec and we feel the northness index proposed by Hanelin (1968) could
be applied to this purpose.
What about Tomorrow?
At present, the future of the domestic, industrial and sport fisheries
in the New Quebec Territory is fairly nebulous. The James Bay and Northern
Quebec Agreement signed by the representatives of the native peoples and the
Quebec and Canadian governments is barely a year old and its effects are all
the less perceptible because the provisions have yet to be legalized and the
enforcement mechanisms are still in the earliest planning stages.
We may assume, however, that the Cree and the Inuit will have
an important say over all aspects of wildlife resource development (harvesting,
research, management). In fact, the Agreement provides for the establishment
of a standing quadripartite advisory board (Indians, Inuit, Quebec, and Canada)
with jurisdiction over native catches, fishing regulations, non-native permit
and outfitter quotas, the industrial fishery, research, and other areas.
The principles of resource conservation and environmental protection
underlie all provisions of the Agreement. Competent government bodies are I 1528836
p. 425.1
given the responsibility for protecting stocks and maintaining balances, through
the establishment of quotas or by other means, with native peoples' organizations
retaining the power to order even more restrictive measures over lands and
waters assigned to their exclusive management for hunting, fishing and trapping
(Getegetry 1 and 2 lands). The Agreement recognizes their general right to
harvest, except where it conflicts with the principle of conservation and
the respect of leases and with requirements for the common good.
The salOiative catches to non-natives is pro ibite.. e n. ive
retain a priority fishing right up to present or recent harvesting levels,
A:e-aeüeg- as the principle of conservation will allow. This means that research, some of which is already underway, will contribute to establishing these levels,
which will serve as a basis for future negotiations (around 1980). Finally,
we should mention that provisions of the Agreement will favour the creation
of native industrial and sport fishing enterprises and the training of Indian
and Inuit protection officers.
This Agreement will therefore affect all fish resource uses,
including the domestic fishery, which will remain a large-scale everyday
activity, from which will stem the danger ofeunctual overfishing in the
vicinity of eglegt4Zte. Fishing effort distribution guidelines will
have to be prepared and strictly enforced to avoid crisis situations which
the industrial fishery will not alleviate, since we believe this fishery
holds little promise for the future. Indeed, while salmon remains a worthwhile
resource in Ungava Bay, the relatively small stocks available may create
a conflict between the industrial fishery and sport fishing. The arctic char,
on the other hand, seems incapable of supporting a viable industrial fishery
and should be reserved for the domestic and sport fisheries. For the remainder,
the low productivity of inland waters and the area's remoteness from markets
lead us to anticipate, at best for the moment, a semi-commercial fishery
meeting, in whole or in part, a local demand in the vicinity of the productive
waters. To support these forecasts, we should point out that the commercial
fishery in northern waters is regressing (NWT, Task Force Report, 1972;
PM Associates, 1975; Lombard, 1975). For instance, declines were reported
in northern Manitoba catches from 1969 to 1973 for the four major species
souoht, i.e. ,thei,whitefish (36%), walleye (13%), pike (65%), and char (74%). 1528836
p. 425.2/426.1
Landings in 1973 were less than one third of the recognized potential and
the effectiveness of the industrial fishery as a harvesting technique is
being questioned, in the context of the socio-economic conditions prevailing
in these areas (Lombard, 1975).
In -tee- New Quebec -Terirep-y, Me- whitefish is of sanie interest
in the southern lakes, where productivity is relatively high and an industrial
whitefish fishery could prove profitable,, provided it is reserved to native
activity and consumption. The. .gamag-iiiiFthern fishery, therefore, does not
have a very promis'ing future, taking into account the fact that it must
constantly fend off the encroachments of the domestic and sport fisheries, kuvve which are proving to 41Fez=cifzejdaeateer social merit and provideepopléeonomic
• benefits.
Sport fishing,_ which naturally entails a tourist industry,rUricie- niably in New Quebec. Le Jeune (1966, 1972)
expressed the conviction that the future of this region_and its population
would follow this pattern, instead of relying on the mining industry, and
recent trends discussed previously in this report combine to bear out this
projection, _ which was largely based on a native take-over of wildlife
resourcesand, particularly, fish production and control methods.
Evidently, as eloquently attested by the Agreement, the Indians
and Inuit plan to appropriate a significant share of the tourist revenue
and, from this standpoint, could go as far as to limit access to recreation
resources to visitors resorting to their services or those of recognized
outfitters.
The uncertain future will benefit the native peoples by keeping
out investment for another few years; it is unknown, however, whether they will
.4W1401,--enough to take advantage of this period of hesitation to occupy the space and succeed as outfitters, eteand administrators, within the context
of a tourism policy that should see the concepts of catch or possession limits and trophy hunting give way to the concept of recreational visits centered on
real northern adventure (Régier, 1976), orthern experiences emphasizing hiking, canoeing, nature camping, native cooking, and the natives' knowledge of 2- 3 1528836
p. 426.2
the environment and its various components. The visitor would be introduced to the local plantlife, wildlife, geography, history and customs, in excursions requiring him to use his mental and physical abilities rather than his bank balance. Fishing in the northland should no longer be the exclusive province of the rich (in many cases old, sometimes senile and alcoholic) segment of society.
Such excursions, involving an outdoor stay of sorts, the acquisition of ecological knowledge, a ‘ few muscle pains, and a touch of Indian or Inuit culture, could be organized in such a way as to minimize pressure on fish and game resources by killing only for immediate consumption, as a general rule.
In particular, this arrangement would encourage the Indians and
Inuit to revive an ancestral base of processes and traditions that would become an essential part of the program we are suggesting in broad terms, while reaffirming our conviction that the future of the native peoples in the New
Quebec Territory rests largely on sport fishing,combined with a few original ideas to boost the native control over resources which are delicately balanced, but nevertheless capable of ensuring the dignified survival of the native peoples, whose rights have finally been recognized by Quebec. o •
C. ts. 1528836
p. 427.1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to extend our deepest thanks to our many colleagues,
collaborators and correspondents who contributed their ideas, information
and statistielgcs to this comprehensive essay on future prospects, and parti-
cularly our friends witethe Quebec Wildlife Service, Environment Canada,
the Manitoba Ministry of Mines, Resources and Environmental Management,
• I, the Center for Northern Studies, and Laval University. We must assume full
responsibility for the Unworthy treatment given the elements of knowledge and
study so generously bestowed upon us.
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