DFO Lil~Il ~ ~1L[1I11[1I1i1l111~1Lll1i[1Li $ Qu E 02011319
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DFO lil~il ~ ~1l[1i11[1i1i1l111~1lll1i[1li $ qu e 02011319 CANADA FISH CULTURE DEVELOPMENT A Report of the Fish Culture Development Branch of the Conservation and Development Service SH 37 A11 Reprinted from the 'Twenty"Fifth Annual Report 1954 of the Department of Fisheries of Canada c. 2 RARE SH 37A11 1954 c.2 RARE Canada. Fish Culture Development Branch Fish culture development. a report of the J 02011319 c.2 SH 37 A11 1954 c.2 RARE d Fish Culture Development Branch Cana a. rt of the Fish culture development. a repo 02011319 c.2 I• FISH CULTURE DEVELO NDER the British North America Act, legislative jurisdiction in coastal U and inland fisheries was given to the Government of Canada. Since that time, however, as a result of various agreements, certain provinces have accepted in a greater or lesser degree the administration of the fisheries within their bound aries. Thus the Province of Quebec administers all its fisheries both freshwater and marine. The Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta 1 assume responsibility for the freshwater species while the Government of Canada handles such marine problems as occur. In British Columbia and Newfoundland the Government of Canada is completely responsible for the marine and anadromous (salmon, smelts, etc.) fish while the provinces take charge of the purely freshwater species. In Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory, the Government of Canada carries out its full responsibility in exerting not only legislative but administrative control. It should be stressed that everywhere in Canada, fisheries legislation is federal even though certain provinces may assume enforcement responsibility. · The division of responsibility, noted above, mainly accounts for the distribu tion of the staff of the Conservation and Development Service, that section of the Department of Fisheries to which has been assigned the task of conserving the fish for use. An additional factor is, of course, the location of the major fishing grounds. It is obvious, however, why the personnel are concentrated on the coasts and why certain large areas such as Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are only mentioned when special problems occur. · It should also be made clear that "fish" as defined in the Fisheries Act "includes shellfish, crustaceans and marine animals". The service must therefore consider not only the true fishes but also shellfish such as oysters, clams, scallops and abalone, crustaceans such as lobsters, crabs and shrimps, marine mammals such as whales, seals and walrus and other marine fauna and flora. The Conservation and Development Service is charged with the maintenance and development of fish stocks in the coastal waters of the Atlantic which are over 200,000 square miles in extent with a coast line about 15,000 miles in length, on the Pacific with a coast line of more than 5,500 miles, and inland areas embracing many hundred thousand square miles. To carry out these responsibilities called for a 1954-55 budget of $4,560,315. To discharge the duties involved requires large numbers of trained officers located throughout the tremendous area to collect and provide information and carry out law enforcement. The large number of species involved and the necessity for familiarity with their behavior increases the complexity of the problem. The Conservation and Development Service is broadly divided into two branches, viz.-Protection concerned with patrol of the area to report information and enforce laws designed to protect the stocks and prevent unwise exploitation, 3 66279-2 and Fish Culture Development concerned with the implementation of measures of all types which will increase and perpetuate populations. It is obvious, however, that the duties of the two branches overlap and it is thus essential that they should be closely welded organizationally. Fishery protection officers, wardens and guardians, over 700 in number, strategically located in areas of operation, maintain close watch on all fishery activity, and spend long hours on patrol guarding against illegal and detrimental practices. Because they are advantageously placed, they are also in a position to observe every development, record and report every piece of pertinent information and suggest possible changes in procedure to enable the service to better carry out its Depart mental responsibilities. They may be truly called "the eyes" of the Department and its accomplishments will depend on the keenness and accuracy of their percep tion. These men must be constantly checking and be completely familiar with their areas. In the Maritimes alone in one year they travel about one million miles by land. In addition to these officers, there is in the Protection Branch a fleet of 76 vessels ranging in size from 20 feet in overall length to 155 · 4 feet-a small launch to a Bangor mine sweeper-with the majority lying between 40 and 65 feet. These boats are crewed by 293 men distributed as follows: Newfoundland Area-12 boats (49 men), Maritimes Area-25 (113), Central Area- 1 (2) and Pacific Area- 38 (129). To these are added at the peak of the fishing season more than one hundred and twenty chartered boats with patrolmen in charge. The Fish Culture Development Branch, because of the nature of its work, is manned by fewer men (112), most of whom are trained in the technical or profes sional fields. In the main their duties involve stream and lake improvement, investigation of pollution, oyster culture, fish breeding and rearing and consultation in many forms. It is obviously not essential for these individuals to be as widely distributed as the protection officers but they must be easily available in every area as the special problems arise. In addition to the headquarters at Ottawa, there are four major administrative divisions in the organization, namely the Newfoundland Area under a Chief Super visor at St. John's, the Maritimes Area under a Chief Supervisor at Halifax, the Central Area under a Chief Supervisor at Winnipeg and the Pacific Area under a Chief Supervisor at Vancouver. In the Newfoundland, Maritimes and the Pacific Areas, the Conservation and Development Service is represented by its two branches, Protection and Fish Culture Development, although in the Maritimes merely as an administrative convenience the headquarters for the latter is in Saint John, New Brunswick. In the Central Area protection problems, which are limited, are handled along with the main inspection matters without a special branch. Fish Culture Development questions from the area are referred to Ottawa. While it is true that the Conservation and Development Service must concern itself with all species of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and others throughout Canada, it is obvious that in any given year it may have to concentrate on a few species where the degree of exploitation or the influence of extraneous factors on the life history have raised problems of conservation. Thus in 1954-55 main . efforts 4 were concentrated on the Atlantic salmon, lobster, oyster, clam and herring on. the Atlantic, and the Pacific salmon in British Columbia. This report deals ex clusively with the work of the Fish Culture Development branch during the period under review. A complete account of the accomplishments of the entire Con servation and Development Service is contained in the Department's Annual Report for 1954,55. Newfoundland Area A survey of salmon rivers in Labrador, begun in 1953, was continued and a: party covered the area from Hamilton Inlet to Nain Bay. Thus, a preliminary survey has now been made of all the major and practically all of the minor rivers from Forteau to Nain. The 1954 season saw the completion of the Terra Nova River improvement project in time for the salmon run, so that for the first time fish coming in from the ocean had access to Terra Nova Lake, its tributary streams, the uppe~ Terra Nova River and the watershed of Maccles Lake. This project involved three fishways. A salmon "ladder" was also completed at Middle Brook, Gambo, enabling the migrating fish to surmount a falls which hitherto was almost impassable• . A decline in the 1954 Newfoundland salmon landings by anglers was attributed to high water levels, late runs of fish, prevailing easterly winds and poor angling weather. A total of 9,513 fish was taken, of which 8,759 were caught in New foundland rivers and 754 in the Eagle and Forteau Rivers of Labrador. This catch totalled 47,718 pounds, giving an average weight of 5 ·01 pounds per fish. In 1953, · total landings were 15,983 fish, averaging 4·6 pounds in weight. Maritimes Area The great importance of the Atlantic salmon fishery again made it necessary to give this species priority in matters pertinent to fish culture in the Maritimes - area. Throughout the summer and into the fall biologists and technicians carried out preliminary surveys of salmon streams in order to expedite selection of those apparently most suitable for development. In addition to the salmon stream sur veys, investigations included predator control tests and experiments to determirie whether early or late running characteristics in salmon are inherited by succeeding. generations. These experiments were commenced by holding late stock from River Phillip at Kejimkujik (ponds) for distribution as yearlings in 1955. The early· stock from Rocky Brook is on hand at Cobequid Hatchery for distribution in River Phillip next year; As of October 30, 1954, the number of salmon fingerlings held were: River Phillip, 66,161 and Kejimkujik, 60,692. · In an endeavour to assure a supply of early run fish for the test, provision was. made to fence and hold the salmon entering the Nictaux-a tributary of the Anna polis River, N.S., in late April and May.