C ONF IDENT IA L

FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF

ANNUAL REPORT

OF

EASTERN ARCTIC FISHERIES INVESTIGATION

FOR

1949

OTTAWA DECEMBER , 1949. Eastern Arctic Fisheries Inv'estigation, 1949, The Cruise of the "CALANUS", 1949. M. J.Dunbar I. Introduction and Summary. The terms of reference of these investetions are (1) to study the physical and biological oceanography of the eastern arctic and (2) to discover, if possible, marine resources which may be developed by and for the native population, Results obtained in during the 1949 season are listed in Dr. Dunbar's report, under these headings: (1) a. Sections were made from Burwell to Akpatok, from Akpatok to Payne bay, and from Akpatok to the mouth of the Koksoak river. Salinities, temperatures and oxygen concentrations were measured (the salinities not yet determined at time of writing). The sections were made in mid-July and one section, that from Payne bay to Akpatok, was repeated late in August in order to show the changes during the summer months* b, Echo-sounder tracks were recorded and kept from regions in Ungava bay where soundings are very incomplete, c. The study of the biology and distribution of the plankton, benthos and littoral fauna was continued, by the addition to the already large collections (from 1947 and 1948) of material from deeper water and from other areas than were possible to reach in the first two seasons. An effort was also made to collect micro-organisms by centrifuging methods. d. Experimental fishing for codfish, shark and flatfish, by hand line and by long lino trawl was continued. Codfish were studied and tagged; four shark were seen, and two were landed; longlining for cod and flatfish was, as before, unsuccessful* e. Beam trawling and otter trawling, carried out in the vicinity of Port Burwell and Payne bay, did not show the presence of flatfish or any other ground fish) nor of any great numbers Of' shrimp. This was due in the first place to the unsuitable trawling bottoms found everywhere, both by the echo-sounder and by preliminary exploration with the dredge. f. Record was made of all seals seen, and stomach contents collected whenever posible. Material for the study of possible trichinid infection was obtained from a few seals. With the exception of a few white whales at Payne bay and one unidentified whale farther south, no Cetacea were seen. (2) a, It was established, at least to my satisfaction, that both the Atlantic cod at Burwell, and the Greenland shark, provide possibilities of exploitation by the native population of Ungava bay. The study of the Eskimo ecology in Ungava bay was continued, and conclusions reached in the. matter of present dislocations and possible future remedies. The following is a brief outline of the course of the expedi- tion: Wilson, the first engineer, arrived at Fort Chimo in the third week in May and prepared the "Calanus" for launching. Grainger (scientific assistant), Reid (second engineer), Creery (navigator) and myself arrived on June 6. The "Calanus" was first afloat on June 16, after some delay due to shore-ice, and on June 20 sailed up river to the air base to load supplies. On June 27, after favourable ice reports from natives and from the pilot of an aircraft, the party sailed for Port Burwell, calling at George River on the way. The eastern edge of Ungava bay was almost free of ice, and the "Calanus" sailed into Mission Cove anchorage at Burwell on June 29. Burwell was used as base until July 15 for operations in and outside Forbes sound. On July 16 we started across the mouth of Ungava bay, touching at for a few hours, and running hydrographie stations en route. Stormy weather forced us into anchorage at Imilik„ bUUween Cape Hope's Advance and Payne bay, instead of sailing up to Cape Hope's Advance as originally planned. From Imilik the expedition continued to Payne bay, back to Akpatok island and southward to the Koksoak, arriving back at Fort Chimo on July 22. The second cruise started on July 30, again to Burwell, where the cod had arrived since July 16, and to the . It was intended to cross to Resolution island, from there to Lake harbour in , and back across to Wakeham, making two sections across . Continued stormy weather, however, centered off the Labrador, delayed the ship seriously, and the Hudson strait sections had to be postponed until 1950. Instead, course was set for Cape Hope's Advance, arriving at the Koaktuk anchorage on August 13. On August 16 we were back at base, at Chimo. The "Calanus" left Chimo on her final cruise of the season on August 19, for Payne bay. The purpose of the cruise was to ex- periment with the flounder drag (otter trawl) in the region between Payne bay and Akpatok, and to repeat the Payne bay-Akpatok section; also to obtain plankton and benthos samples from the later part of August, which had not been possible in previous years. As is recounted below, trawling and dredging operations ended prei- maturely due to difficult terrain and damage to the gear. Leaf bay was visited on the return trip. The "Calanus" arrived back at Chimo on August 26. Taking advantage of the spring tides, and with the groundwork already done by the Tower Company, we were able to haul the ship up in short order, On August 30 she was out of reach of the tide, and on September 1 she had been hauled high enough for the winter. There remained the not inconsiderable work of winterization, storage and stock-taking. In spite of bad weather in July and August, which delayed the work somewhat, the full program had been completed, II. Physical oceanography. Sixteen hydrographic stations were occupied for purposes of physical oceanography, some of them more than once during the season. The sections Burwell-Akpatok, Payne-Akpatok and Akpatok- Koksoak consisted of five, three and four stations respectively, so that the water of Ungava bay was"boxed in". It may be, however, that the strong tidal movements in this region will considerably reduce the accuracy of the dynamic computations to be made from this material, Water semples, eighty-three in all, were obtained at all depths from each station, and brought back to Montreal for titration, probably at St. Andrews. Oxygen determinations were made in the field. The full material is not included here, since temperatures have still to be corrected and the salinities deter- mined. The bathythermograph was used at each hydrographic station, and the continuous curves which this instrument gives will be a considerable help in interpreting the Nansen bottle results. This is probably the extent of the value of the bathythermograph results, except possibly for defense research purposes. The bathythermograph is not accurate, and moreover the adjustment of the viewer grid appears to be inaccurate to the extent of about one half of a degree Cent grade; this can be put right in the field. It is also difficult to understand why the Navy insists on using feet and Fahrenheit instead of metres and Centigrade, as though the length of Queen Elizabeth's umbrella was of more significance than the established method of oceano- graphic science. The lowest temperature recorded in 1949 was -1.50 0 0., at a depth of 140 metres. No temperature, even at 200 metres, ap- proached the value of -UO, recorded in 1947, and discussed in my 1947 report. This matter will be fully treated in the publish- ed results. The highest temperature recorded was 5.80 °C, at the surface on August 24, midway between Payne bay and Akpatok island. Oxygen concentrations ranged from 6.67 to 9.49 cc/1. The greatest depth reached with the Nansen bottle was 300 metres, and the greatest depth sounded was approximately 360 metres, midway be- tween Burwell and Akpatok. 4

Records of observed ice, and of tidal effects, were kept throughout the work. III. Plankton, benthos, littoral fauna. Thirty-one plankton hauls were made, from 20 to 60 minutes duration. Particular attention was paid to the deeper water lay- ers, which had been out of reach of equipment used in previous years. There is now material on hand for a full account of the plankton of Ungava bay, both animal and plant, in the summer season, a study which will add greatly to our understanding of the waters of the area. Benthonic forms were collected from depths down to about 250 metres, with the dredge and the beam trawl. No bottom sampler or grab was used, so that the collections do not include much of the burrowing life. The significance of the littoral fauna in estimating the nature of the marine environment has been mentioned in previous reports, both published and manuscript. The presence or absence of Littorina saxatilis, Mytilus edulis and Balanus balanoides seems to be indicative of the productivity of the water, although the nature of the relation is not yet known. 'e.e distribution of these intertidal forms in the Ungava bay region proved most in- teresting. All three were found at Burwell, but neither Littorina nor Mytilus were seen at the Button islands, a few miles away. Balanus was exceedingly rare at the Buttons. All three become increasingly scarce along the shore from northeast to northwest of the bay, so that at Cape Hope's Advance they are very rare, and the rocks in consequence are ungrazed, being without Littorina. Using these animals as indicators of the edge of the subarctic zone, this distribution would place Ungava bay waters on the northern limits of the subarctic, that is to say, with decreasing Atlantic influence from northeast to northwest extremities; a pattern which seems to be in agreement with the plankton and fish distribution. IV. Otter-trawl and beam-trawl. Trawling experiments were not successful, due to the very uneven and rocky nature of the bottom. The Arctic Pilot refers to the "muddy bottom of Ungava bay". Sounding leads loaded with tallow will usually bring up mud from the bottom, and occasionally this mud is thick, so that a dredge becomes quickly clogged with it. But over the areas explored (the Burwell region, and the .area between Payne bay and Akpatok) the mud, or sandy mud, appears to lie in crevices and small valleys in an otherwise rocky and broken terrain. From the explorations made with the echo sounder, this type of bottom probably extends over the whole of the bay. Although the echo sounder and dredge offered little promise of even reasonable trawling bottom, the beam trawl was neverthe- less used at four stations in Forbes sound and outside it. 5

Damage to the net was considerable, and on one occasion the trawl was turned right over, apparently by up-ending on a steep rock, or by falling off a submarine ledge. Between Payne bay and Akpatok island, the flounder drag (an otter-trawl) was simil- arly torn; even the canvas used to protect the bottom of"the net was ripped beyond repair. The use of otter-trawls or beam-trawls in Ungava bay was therefore considered to be impracticable, and this method of finding groundfish and shrimp (the only method possible in the case of shrimp) had to be abandoned« V. Long line trawls. Long line fishing was tried persistently in 1947, 1948 and 1949, always without result. Even lines laid in areas and at depths in which cod were caught in large numbers by hand line (jigging), failed to catch fish. In 1949, only one fish, a shark, was caught by long line. The bait used consisted of the guts and meat of sculpin and cod (and in the case of shark; seal fat, tallow and half codfish). It appears that the behaviour of the cod in the cold water of Ungava bay is significantly differ- ent from that in more southern waters, or in west Greenland, where long line fishing is very successful. This is analogous to the constant finding that salmon and trout, in the northern limits of their ranges, cannot be caught on a fly-rod, and often not on spinners or spoons or other lures. On hauling the lines up after a few hours, or overnight, the bait was normally eaten completely off the hooks. This is the work of bottom invertebrates, notably amphipods (Gammarus and Pseudalibrotus in particular). Thus unless the fish were to take the bait soon after the line was lowered, the long line trawl would be useless for this reason alone. It is not, however, sug- gested that this is in fact the reason of failure of the method, for the consumption of the bait by invertebrates must occur also in other parts of the world, and just as quickly. There is one exception to this persistent lack of result with the long line. A shark, as is described below, was caught on a long line on which the baited hooks reached from the bottom to within 25 metres of the surface, the shark taking a hook close to the bottom. It is possible that by raising the hooks above the bottom by floats, the long line method might be effective for cod also; but the effort required would not be repaid by the take, when compared to the ease with which they are caught by jigging. VI. 'Atlantic Cod. From reports received from Eskimos in previous years, the date of arrival of the cod (Gadus callarias) at port Burwell was expected to be during the first half of July. During the time between June 29 and July 16, constant watch was kept for their arrival, and jigging operations were strenuously maintained. - 6 -

On July 6, one small cod was taken, in Forbes sound, No other cod was caught during that first cruise, and the "Calanus" left the Burwell area on July 16, It is most probable that the single specimen taken was a wintering individual, and that its capture was not an indicator of the arrival of the spring mig- rants. On the second cruise, the "Calanus" arrived at Burwell on August 3, and on that day the cod were found to be very abundant. The natives resident at Burwell told me that the fish had arrived shortly after the ship had left Burwell in July* The Eskimos are never very accurate in their counting of days or estimation of time, so that the best that can be inferred is that the cod arrived at Burwell perhaps within a week after July 16. Accord- ing to the natives, they leave the Burwell vicinity at the end of September, Of the cod caught in Forbes sound, 240 were measured, sexed, and otolithed, The size range was the same as in 1947, from 400 to 740 millimetres. All of them were taken on the jig, The material, added to the 1947 data, will form a useful start to the study of the biology of these Burwell cod. Infor- mation on their movements was also sought by tagging. Due to the impractibility of using otter-trawls, and the failure of the long-line technique, it was difficult to obtain undamaged speci- mens in any numbers. The barbs were filed off the jigs, but even so many of the fish taken were wounded so severely as to be useless for tagging. Seventy-two individuals were tagged in Forbes sound, and sixteen in Foxe harbour, making eighty-eight in all, It is doubtful whether we will be fortunate enough to have any of these fish returned, but nevertheless notice should be sent to the Newfoundland Provincial authorities to request Newfoundland and Labrador fishermen to forward to St. Johns or to Ottawa any tags marked "E.A. 1" to"E.A. 90" found on cod- fish, The tags were attached to the left gill-cover. Oppor- tunity should be made in a future season to tag larger numbers of Atlantic cod at Burwell * The codfish were found to be as plentiful at the mouth of Foxe harbour as in Forbes sound. They are possibly fairly uni- formly abundant close to the rocky shore of the whole of Kil- linek island, but this was not established in the past season. Cod-jigging at the Button islands, only fifteen miles north of port Burwell, produced nothing. The region examined was the western shore of McColl island, and it may be that the cod are to be found in other parts of the intricate channel system be- tween these islands, It was nticed, however, that the whole nature of the water here was different from the condition round Burwell, and it may well be that there is a sudden change in marine conditions between the two localities, across Gray strait. Close study of the hydrographie results, when ready, and of the plankton samples collected, may help to elucidate this interes- ting point. The striking difference in the littoral fauna at the two stations has already been described. Fish described as "cod" are reported as very common in Acadia cove, in the Resolution island group, some forty miles north of the Buttons, where they are caught for home consump- tion by the personnel of the radio station. Et could not be ascertained from the descriptions given, however, whether this is the Atlantic cod or not, This matter will be included in the 1950 program. It is just possible that these may be Atlantic cod from west Greenland, whereas the Burwell cod are most probably from the Labrador. :Parasites and stomach contents of the codfish were collected. VII. Flatfish. It will be remembered that in 1947 and 1948, the young of m pleuronectid, identified as the Greenland halibut, Reinhardtius hippogIossoides, was found in some numbers in the stomachs of cod at Port Burwell. They were taken again in 1949, not only in cod stomachs but also in the beam trawl (one specimen) and in the dredge. But the adult fish have still eluded capture. Long-line trawls caught none, and extensive otter- or beam-trawling was not practicable, The remains of one fairly large flatfish, however, were taken from the stomach of a Greenland shark. Identification of these remains will be very difficult or impossible. One native at Burwell said that he had seen adult halibut, two to three feet in length, on the eastern side of Killinek island (the Labrador side). These fish are known to the Eskimos by the name "Natarnak" which is the Greenlandic name for the Atlantic halibut. It is probable that in Ungava bay the name is used for both species. • The location, and the estimation of the numbers of these flatfish, would most likely require a whole season's work for one vessel. It might be a suitable task for the "Calanus" to re- turn to after her exploratory work farther north; or it colild be done by a fishing schooner from the Labrador. They represent a resource which, if present in sufficient quantity, could be de- veloped to the great benefit of the native population. VIII. phark. Four shark (Somniosus microcephalus) were seen during the summer, and two of them were landed. A fifth individual was caught by a vessel anchored in Burwell outer harbour, while jig- ging for cod. Of the four seen by the "Calanus" party, one was shot by the natives at the surface in a small salt water lake, one was shot but lost in the Mission Cove anchorage, another was seen to break the surface in the outer harbour, and the fourth was caught on long-line. The individual which entered Mission Cove was thought to have been attracted by the Ubod and oil re- sulting from the cutting-up of some fifteen seals which had been brought back by native hunters from the Button islands, The sight of three shark at the surface in so short a span of time is an indication of considerable numbers of shark in the general region, for they seldom leave the deeper water except at special seasons of Eskimo hunting activity. Long-lines were laid for shark along the bottom in Forbes sound, in about 45 fathoms; off the mouth of Forbes sound, in 75 fathoms; and on the 100-fathom line offshore. Each line con- sisted of six hooks only, and in every case the bait was eaten completely by benthonic invertebrates. The bait used consisted of codfish and seal fat; white rags smeared with tallow were also tried, and bacon. Finally, on August 6, a line was laid at station 119 (outside Forbes sound, in 70 fathoms of water and not far from shore). Only one hook was allowed to lie on the bottom; the remainder were arranged between the bottom and the 25-metre level, nine hooks in all. When the line was hauled on the morn- ing of August 7, a shark had taken the lowest hook but one, bait- ed with seal fat. In accordance with Greenland experience, the animal, although alive when hauled on board, was completely in- active and gave no trouble at all. It was a male, although lack- ing the external claspers (this matter will be discussed in the definitive publication on the Ungava bay fish), measuring 372 centimetres (just over twelve feet), and weighing probably about 600 lbs. This specimen was completely dissected, for reasons of anatomical interest, and the brain, part of the spinal column, the heart, and samples of meat, skin and liver were retained. The stomach was empty. The other shark examined, shot by a native in a salt water lake, was considerably smaller, also a male, and had in its àDM- ach the remains of several fish including a flatfish, and parts of a small seal. There is no doubt that the Greenland shark, provided a little instruction were given to the Eskimc4 and marketing facil- ities, can be developed into a valuable resource for the natives. This point is discussed below under "Eskimo economy". A supply of shark tackle was left with the Burwell natives, and instruc- tions were given on how ta use the meat for dog-feed. It is hoped that the tackle will be used, and that a start will be made in this way in familiarizing the Eskimos with this kind of fishing. Shark are reported in numbers in the region of Cape Hope's Advance and Diana bay, Our 1950 program should include shark fishing in this area. IX. Sea Mammals. No walrus were recorded by the "Calanus" expedition; but immediately before our arrival at Akpatok island during the first cruise, on August 16, a party in two Peterhead boats from Diana bay obtained 29 walrus. Father Steinmann, missionary from Koak- tuk (near Cape Hopets Advance), was with the party, in fact had supplied the gasoline for the trip, and informed me that the walrus were seen "in hundreds, uncountable". There are no means of knowing how this is to be interpreted, but ho did add that if the natives had not forgotten how to hunt them properly, the take would have been very much greater. He described the shooting as very wild, and from far too great distances, so that most of the walrus herd were scared off before the boats came within reason- able range. Seal-hunting out of Chimo, by natives, was not very pro- ductive in this past season. However, this may have something to do with the fact that the most energetic family, the Suppas, were working with the "Calanus" expedition, and therefore was unable to go seal-hunting, The ice left the bay early, and hence the best of the seal-hunting was over quickly. No seals were seen between Chimo and Burwell on the first cruise. At Burwell, during the first half of July, only very few seals, all of them ringed seals, were killed by the natives. On July 14 four bearded seals were seen outside Forbes sound, mong scatter- ed ice. On the run across the mouth of the bay no seals were ob- served at all, in July, The Payne bay natives normally do much more seal-hunting than the Chimo Eskimos, and had considerable success in 1949, according to reports received. The take seems to have consisted predominantly of bearded seals ("Squareflippers", Erignathus barbatus). Three Peterhead boats landed 49 seals between them. There was the usual considerable waste of seals due to sinking. During the second cruise, news of better seal hunting at Burwell was received. Three of the Burwell Eskimos visited the Button islands, almost always good seal territory, on August 5 and 6e.. Twenty seals were obtained in these two days, two of them harp seals (groenlandica), the rest harbour seal (vitulina) and ringed seal (hispida) with the harbour seals in the majority. The stomachs of all these seals were examined; most of them were empty. There is some connection between the abundance of seals at the Button islands and the altered hydrographie and biological conditions there, when compared to Ungava bay, including the Burwell area. This is an interesting and important point which will be explored in the laboratory, using the material collected. On arrival at our anchorage on McColl island in the Buttons (named "Calanus harbour"), a small herd of harp seals was disturbed and chased out of the harbour. The waters were exceptionally rich in the Mysid Mysis oculata, the most common organism found in seal stomachs there. - 10 -

On Auest 15, about twelve bearded seals were sighted thirty miles north of the Koksoak river, the only seals observed after leaving the Button islands on August 12. Two were shot by the "Calanus" party, and one was brought on board; the other sank. Again on August 20 two bearded seal were seen twenty- five miles off the mouth of Payne bay. Both were killed, but only one, a young specimen, was recovered. The other, a large adult, slid off the ice pan on which it was shot, and sank. Other seals were seen singly or in pairs during the course of the summer's work. Seals cannot be described as abundant in the waters of Ungava bay, but at the saine time there are more available than the small take by the Eskimos would lead one to imagine . This discrepancy is due to the low hunting activity of the natives, and is referred to again below. The few natives left at Burwell, however, obtain seals in large numbers in the fall. These are mostly harp seal, shot or caught in nets at Ikerasak (McLelan Strait), on their annual southern migration. A certain number of hooded seal (Cystophora) accompany the harp seals. The hunting starts in October, and may continue through to December. The stomachs of twenty-seven seals were examined, Stomach contents of two bearded seals, four ringed seals, six harbour seals and two harp seals were collected. White whale hunting in Ungava bay during 1949, up to the end of August, was extremely poor. The Chimo and George river natives obtained almost none at all. The Payne bay Eskimos fared a little better. Fourteen whales were killed opposite the Payne bay post in July in one day, and others were obtained in more scattered manner during the summer. It is probable that for the white whale take at Payne bay, the same applies as fon the seal take everywhere in Ungava baye, namelythat greater interest and activity on the part of the Eskimos would produce a better hunt, X. Recommendations. • There is still work to be done in Ungava bay; there always will be. But the reconnaissance work is now completed, and it is now possible to assess the possibility of development of new re- sources for the Eskimos. Moreover, the work which remains to be done on the application of the findings of the past three years is not necessarily work on which the "Calanus" would be best em- ployed . This work consists of the following separate projects: l. The exploration of the coasts of Killinek island and the tip of the Labrador, by hand 1ine and long line, for flatfish. • 2, The exploration of the precise extent of the dis- tribution of the cod in the vicinity of Killinek island in summer. - 11 - 3, Tagging work on the cod, and the continuation of the general study of these fish. 4. Further experimental fishing for shark, to estimate the possible yield which a shark fishery would offer, 5. The study of the Button islands; an estimation of the numbers of seal found there in summer; detailed study of the hydrography and production; further exploration of the island waters for codfish. All this is work which the "Calanus" can do in due course; but most of It (items 1, 2, 3, and 4) can be done equally well by a fishing schooner commissioned to do it, with a biologist on board, Since there is so much work to be done in the whole of the eastern arctic, it is suggested that this latter course would be the wise one, The study of the Button islands should be done by the "Calanus" as soon as opportunity offers, perhaps in 1950. The problem of the use of the shark and the codfish by the Eskimos is very complex, and is discussed below (section XII). It is recommended that the habit of marine fishing be grafted first upon the few natives living at Burwell, who have retained much of the native energy and initiative, and that the livers of the sharks, and perhaps also of the cod, and the shark skins, be purchased by the Government for (at first) experimental purposes. The spread of the marine fishing habit to the other natives of Ungava bay must take time; it is urged above all that the ad- ministration take its time in this matter. An attempt to push such changes through in a few years will not succeed, and will only leave a sense of discouragement and failure which will make the ultimate achievement of results that much the harder. For 1950, the following program is recommended for the "Calanus": 1. Shark fishing in the neighbourhood of Cape Hopels Advance and westward. 2, Plankton studies, and the exploration of the sea floor, in that area, 3. Hydrographic sections across Hudson strait„.from Wakeham bay to Lake harbour and from Gabriel strait . to the Button islands. A similar section across the mouth of . 4. Investigation of the cod caught at Resolution island. 5. The study of the Button islands, as described above. 6. Such experimental fishing of all kinds, in Frobisher bay, as time and ice conditions permit. -6 12 -

This program can be carried out by wintering the ship at Fort Chimo again, not at Frobisher bay as at first intended. The work could be divided into two cruises: the first from Chimo to Cape Hope's Advance, Wakeham bay, Lake harbour, and Frobisher bay; the second from Frobisher bay to Chimo via Resolution island and the Button islands. If ice conditions in Gabriel strait or in Frobisher bay cause too much delay in getting to the Frobisher bay post, the ship can return to Chimo and make a second cruise to the Button islands and to Burwell. In either case Chimo is the most convenient wintering place, especially since we have ade- quate equipment there for the beaching operation, and are now familiar with the Chimo conditions, With fuel caches at Diana bay, Frobisher bay and Burwell, our plans can be as elastic as contingency demands. A small food supply must be assured at Frobisher bay. The alternative is to make the first cruise Chimo-Hopets Advance-Wakeham bay-Lake harbour-Resolution-Button islands-Chimo; and the second cruise Chimo-Button islands-Resolution-Frobisher bay, wintering the ship at Frobisher, There are several disad- vantages to this. First, it will mean arriving at Frobisher bay late in the season, with winch, cradle and slipway to prepare the beaching« Second, it will actually cut down the time available for work in Frobisher bay, for there will be no time during the first cruise to work there, and during the second cruise we will have to spend considerable time preparing for the beaching. I think it wiser to postpone wintering at Frobisher bay until 1951. Equipment for wintering there, should be shipped in 1950; there may be some means of having the winch installed, etc., during that season, The "Calanus" party itself may well have time to begin the work, XI. Personnel. All members of the party worked excellently together in 1949; it would be invidious to draw any special distinctions. Every member of the expedition, both Eskimo and White, showed truly admirable readiness for hard work at any time of day or night, and a real sense of responsibility for his share, More- over, under conditions of enforced waiting for weather or ice, there was no sign of boredom. For 1950, I suggest that the party be reduced by one, A special navigator is not necessary. I shall be sorry to go with- out Creeryts cheerful and efficient presence, but space on board the "Calanus" is expensive. As scientific assistant, I hope that Grainger will be able to join the party again. Emerson Reid became very keen on northern work in 1949, and soon learned to look after the engineering department. He will, I hope, be en- gineer next year, Wilson is also anxious to continue in 1950, and I know that we could find no better man as general assistant or as first mate. Being now a medical student, he may not be able to leave Montreal as early as the rest, but there should be no - 13 - difficulty in getting him to Cape Hope's Advance by Peterhead boat to join the "Calanus" while she is working there. Simeon Suppa, our native skipper e. proved excellent, and the greatest asset for general safety which the expedition had. He became very proud of the ship, and is keen to take the job again in 1950. A coast pilot for the Lake harbour-Frobisher bay run can be picked up at Lake harbour. Simeon knows all the rest. 14 -

XII. Eskimo economy; the possibility of fishery development. Today there is perhaps no region in the Eskimo range where the primitive, or "original" native economy is practiced. Evem'r- where the arrival of the white man has induced the Eskimos to undertake occupations which are, or were at one time, new to them. The transition from a simple hunting economy to one in which a money crop" (fur) plays an important part, must have required considerable adjustment by the natives. There is no cause, therefore, to look upon the introduction of marine fishing in Ungava bay as an impossible thing. Moreover, sea fisheries have been developed in another Eskimo area--Greenland--with great success, and Greenland has in fact departed farther from the primitive hunting economy to the extent of developing sheep farm- ing in favourable parts of the country. The Eskimo culture is considered by many to be an arrested civilization. To attempt to stimulate its further development is reasonable. Such developments, however, take time. It has taken thirty years to establish the Greenland fishery, and the sheep-farming will take longer still before it can be looked upon as well root- ed in the native habit of thought. Moreover, a new fishery in Ungava bay will require continued encouragement and co-operation from Government, just as in Greenland, for it is certain that the Hudson's Bay Company will not enter upon a policy which involves only the welfare of the Eskimo. A considerable period of years must be allowed for before an Eskimo marine fishery in Canada can be expected to pay for itself and finally to run at a profit. The scale of such a fishery, involving only small numbers of people, will never be large, even if it is expanded to ambrace other areas of the Eastern Arctic. The nursing of it until it is weanod is a government job; it Is very doubtful whether any pri- vate trading organization could afford to do it. It is not dimply a question of venturing into a new industry from outside. The matter at stake is not the fate of a few'thousand dollars in- vested in the fishery, but of the well-being of a native people. In Ungava bay, one area, that of Port Burwell, has been found to be able to provide marine fishery resources for the Es- kimo, and it is probable that the region of Cape Hope's Advance can do the same, to a lesser degree. The problem is, therefore, to attract the native population to those parts for the purpose of using those resources. It is not enough to point out that the codfish and the shark are useful fish, and that therefore they should be caught. As in Greenland, the fishery must be started by offering to buy its products, and for this purpose it will be necessary to establish fishery stations. A small station at Bur- well, equipped with a small power boat, would function both as an experimental fishery station, as a point of sale for the Eskimos, for the fishery products, and as a processing and storage plant. For such of its stock as may be exportable from Ungava bay, it would be well situated close to Hudson strait shipping route--so too would a similar station in the Diana bay area. - 15 -

The production of a native cod-fishery at Burwell might well be absorbed for the most part within Ungava bay itself--that of a shark fishery could not. Salt or dried cod, to be used both for human consumption and for dog feed, could be sold to other settlements in Ungava bay. The salting and drying would be done at the fishery station, and the native fishermen would be paid for their catch in the ordinary way, The cod livers could be exported as livers to southern Canada, or rendered at the station. Some of the oil at least would be very valuable for dietetic pur- poses among the Eskimos thanselves,

It is not considered probable that the cod population at Burwell during the summer will fail to appear, or decrease sig- nificantly, in response to cyclical hydrographie changes. From the available records, codfish have been plentiful at Burwell even before their arrival in west Greenland in recent decades. The risk, therefore, of establishing a fishery or an unreliable fish population, is small. The Greenland shark offers three useful raw materials--the meat, as dog feed, the livers, for oil, and the skins, for leat- her. As dogfeed, the meat will no doubt be sneered at by the Ungava bay population both white and native, at first, No fish meat is as good as walrus or seal for dog feed. But one must use what is available, and shark meat has been used for dog feed in Greenland for generations. The meat must, however, be dried first, for in the fresh state it contains an ammoniac sub- stance which renders it both unpalatable and somewhat toxic. Dried, and preferably mixed with a little seal oil, it makes ade- quate dog feed. The liver of the Greenland shark is very large, and has been found to be high in vitamin A content in Greenland, especially in the northern part of the country. Estimation of the vitamin con- tent of the Ungava bay shark livers should be done soon; one sample, preserved in salt, was collected in 1949, and more can be obtained in 1950 preserved as required. Assistance is sought here from the Fisheries Experimental Station at Halifax. The skin of the shark makes fine leathers. The whole skin with only the denticles removed, dresses to a hard, durable leat- her, which can be used for luggage, handbags, boots and shoes, and heavy upholstery; with the hard epidermal layer removed, an excellent soft leather of the chamois type is obtained, and in much larger and more even sheets than can be cut from the chamois skin, or from whatever skin is used to-day to make "chamois leathers", There is as yet no tannery in Canada which will handle Greenland shark skins, and only one, to my knowledge, in North America. But there are certainly enough shark available in Canadian arctic waters to encourage Canadian leather proces- sera to undertake the work once a continued supply of the raw skins was assured. - 16 -

The establishment of a station at Burwell for purposes of FisherieL research and the nursing of a seedling fishing industry would have another salutary effect besides the development of the fishery itself. It would in due course attract the natives to the Burwell area, not necessarily for purposes of œttlement, but for the summer season, and in doing so it would stimulate them to greater activity in seal hunting. The important thing is to get them out on the waters of Ungava bay to a much greater ex- tent than they go at present. There is a considerable inertia or lack of initiative and drive, to overcome. This lack of drive, which is not a characteristic of the Eskimo in his primitive condition, appears to have crept slowly over the Ungava bay natives. The process is no doubt cumulative, or circular, in that declining caribou and fur resources, and apparently also declining seal numbers, have caused the Eskimo to be less and less inclined to go hunting; this lack of hunt- ing activity has in turn reduced the standard of living, which has again a deleterious effect upon initiative. The unthinking policy of the Government of allowing the Eskimos to work and live at the air base at Chimo, has accelerated this process of deterioration considerably, so far as the Chimo natives are con- cerned. A new enterprise, such as a marine fishery, might be ex- actly the stimulant which the sick economy of Ungava bay requires. The inertia which has developed is sometimes startling in its manifestations. At Payne bay, the natives are even unwilling to sail some twenty miles up the river to hunt the white whale which are often to be found in that region. If the Hudsonts Bay Company manager suggests that they do so, they are more than J_ikely to demand that he supply the gasolinefor the trip. From 'rob May, post manager at George River, it was learned that there is a lake inland from the Adlorilik fjord which is well known to contain some numbers of harbour seal each year, but no effort is made to hunt them, or to establish a base camp, with a boat at- tached, which could be used each season for this purpose. Associated with this sloth is the development of lazy and improper hunting methods, so that even the reduced hunting ac- tivity becomes less efficient. In less deteriorated parts of the arctic, motorboats are used much less, in some parts not at all, and the seals are properly stalked, by whaleboat or Kayak (I am concerned for the moment only with summer hunting), so that the chance of losing seals through sinking is greatly reduced. In Ungava bay the most usual technique is to chase the seals in Peterhead boats and fire whenever the animals break the surface, often at long range. Many seals sink before they can be reached. Whatever the cure for the economic situation in Ungava bay, it is not to be found in the employment of the Eskimos as day labourers on air bases or new construction projects, such as the building and maintenance of radio, weather or ionospheric stations, 17 -

schools and nursing stations. Such work is not permanent, teaches the native almost nothing, and seldom develops the skills which he possesses. It leads in all probability to the growth of a com- munity of hoboes, who will work only 80 long as there is an overseer in the neighbourhood, and who come to live on flour, tea, sugar and tobacco. A community of this sort is growing up on the air base at Chimo, On the other hand, the integration of the EskiMo with the increasing aeronautical, meteorological and mining activity in the north is of the first importance. To amploy the Eskimos only as "brute labour" or chore-boys is to damage their racial strength and ultimately to destroy them. To teach them the ele- ments of the new northern economy, to train them to be useful technicians - carpenters, smiths, mechanics, radio operators -- and to allow them to contribute themselves to the new development, is the only proper thing to do. The building of Government schools is an important step in this direction, provided that the curriculum is adapted to the country -- to transplant our own grade-school curriculum to the north would be senseless. The establishment of marine fisheries at this time would be mother important advance. It should be emphasized here, in defense against those who will say that the above discussion of education, airfields and native initiative is not the concern of the fishery biologist, that unless the matter of marine fisheries is treated together with the rest of the native economy, and unless it is placed in its proper place in the whole pattern, it will be impossible to work out the best means of starting and maintaining the fishery, It is, after all, the very essence of ecology (and this is an ecological matter) that the emphasis is placed on the pattern rather than the component. It will probably be advisable to facilitate marine trans- portation in Ungava bay, possibly by issuing loans to buy boats, and also to reduce the cost of it by changing from gasoline to fuel oil or kerosene angines, or by encouraging the greater use of sail as opposed to power. To sum up this discussion, it is suggested that the follow- ing steps be taken:- 1. A fisheries experimental and processing station should be built at Burwell, which would act also as advisor and purchaser. 2. The quality of the shark oil of Ungava bay should be estimated without delay. 3. The tanning industry in Canada should be canvassed for markets for the skins of the Greenland shark. " 18 -

4. The internal market, in Ungava bay itself, for dried shark and cod meat, should be developed. 5. Instruction in the possibilities of fishery develop- ment should be given in the new school at Chimo. 6. Finally, the development should not be hurried. Let it rather grow by itself as far as possible, once the necessary stimuli are given. If in twelve yoars there are twelve boats in Ungava bay occupied for at least part of the summer in cod and shark fishing, the pro- gram will have been successfully begun. --1

- 1 --

Appendix I, Port Burwell. The recommendation of the building of, a fishery station at port Burwell, mentioned in Section XII of this report, above, was not included in Section X, under the heading "recommendations", since these were concerned with the field studies still to be made, rather than the manner in which they might be carried out. It is, nevertheless, a very important part of the proposed devel- opment of native fisheries, and merits special attention and ex- pansion here, In making out the estimates for 1950, I have made a tentative calculation of the probable cost of such an estab- lishment, and kept it separate from the research estimates for the "Calanus". The station is essential to fishery development, and moreover it would have value outside the actual fishery work of research, purchasing and processing. Quite apart from Burwell's signifi- cance in being the limit of the known distribution of the Labra- dor cod, and the obvious area in which to begin the àevelopment of marine fisheries in Ungava bay, it is also strategically situa- ted on (1) the shipping route through Hudson strait, and (2) the migration route of many of the harp seals which summer in the eastern arctic, and also apparently of a few of the hooded seals. The station would thus be admirably situated for work on these seals, in correlation with the investigations now being begun in Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence waters. It would be pos- sible to add greatly to the completeness of these studies by collecting material at Burwell both before the seals reach New- foundland and the Gulf in the late fall, and after they leave those parts in the early spring . Such work cannot be done except by the use of a permanent station at Burwell . There are at the moment three shacks belonging to the R.C.M.P.„ but long abandoned by the police, at Burwell, These are used by the native population at present, but one of them might conceivably be borrowed for use as fish shed and processing station, This, however, would be far from ideal, and furthermore it seems a pity to "dispossess" a native family of their shack, even though it does not in fact belong to them. Much better would be to build a fish shed close to the water, and at a reasonable distance from the station's living quarters. This shed should be equipped with storage space for salt and other reagents, and for fishery produce, and with the necessary troughs and tanks, sup- plied with running salt and fresh water, and a boiler. Unless it were planned to expand the uses of the station (for instance as a general scientific station), the living quarters need not be large. There should be room for one white family, per- haps an assistant ) and if possible a small laboratory. The station should possess a small motorboat, about 30 feet long with inboard engine, and a dinghy, - 2 -

To begin with at least, one man would be enough to handie the fishery work; but the station should be capable of expansion to suit growing requirements, and possibly also the accommo- dation of other Government interests' From the experience with the building of Canada's Consulate in Greenland during the wat, it is / robable that the living quarters of the station would cost about 6000. Furniture and other household equipment might cost about 800. The processing, or fishery shed, would come to about 3000, plus boiler, vats, barrels, benches and water instal- lations, which might account for another 13000 between them. Motor boat and dinghy could be obtained for about $1400. This adds up to a total of $14,200 for the establishment of the station. The annual operating budget might be expected to be about $7,200, made up as follows; Fuel 0800; food supplies 131500, processing supplies i400; fishing tackle $300; (all these estimates include high freight charges); salary of station chief, say $3000; wages for station servant $600; wages for extra native labour during fishing season $600. These figures are only approximate at best, since in any new development there are so many unknown factors which affect the final cost, Port Burwell is a logical place to develop in the interests of the Eskimo economy. As the writer has pointed out in a pre- vious report on Ungava bay studies (1947), Burwell is rich, from the Eskimo point of view, in almost everything except the one thing in which the Hudson's Bay Company is really interested -- fur, By the closing of the Burwell trading post, most of the native population were induced to move elsewhere, thus underlin- ing the power which trading companies hold over the indigenous people . But it can hardly be considered a good thing when the native population is removed from an area in which they can live in botter physical and mental health, and encouraged to live in a less rich area which has a ready source of flour, sugar and tobacco. As has been pointed out above, the development of marine fishing at Burwell will also increase the sealing activity in that region - a region which can stand the increased take of seals . If the dev- elopment is successful, the appearance of a trading post at Bur- well might be expected, depending upon Government policy. As it is, the few natives now living at Burwell trade at George River; there does not seem to be any reason why this practice should cease.