'Îîüillwet Territories
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sH Zr :Ael Expansion of the Fisheries e9f DF° 1hbirfiliïiridîïlèclue !II the 'îîüillwet Territories UP TO THE PRESENT TIME, COMMERCIAL fishing in the Northwest Territories has been re- stricted a lm o st exclusively to Great Slave Lake, with two species making up 9-5 per cent of the catch. There has been some commercial fishing within the Arctic Circle by members of Eskimo co-operatives for Arctic char. The Great Slave Lake comme r c ial fishery commenced in July, 1945, f o llo w in g a scientific assessm.ent of the potential of the f i she rie s re- source. A modest annual quota was established which took domestic food needs into consideration. This quota was far below the estimate of available sustained production. Following the completion in 1948 of an all-weather road linking Hay River with the road network of Alberta, the resource could be more extensively but saf e ly exploited and the an- nual quota was increased to its present volume of 9,000,000 pounds, round weight, of whitefish and lake trout. Since that time a sustained annual yield has been obtained f rom Great Slave Lake under care- ful mana gement and with an attendant continuing scientific program of study. It would appear to be a controlled and stabilized fishery. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES OF CANADA In recent years the r e has been steadily in- creasing manifestation and evidence of the desire to expand the tw o aspects of fishing in the N. W. T., i.e. , a) commercial fishermen wish to extend their operations to lake areas far beyond the confines of Great Slave lake, and b) the rising potential of tour- ism based largely on the magnificent angling attrac- tions. The Department of Fisheries welcomes these developments and considers there are great possi- bilities for both, with as sociate d benefits to all concerned. Both developments result directly from the growth of our country, with improved trans- portation facilities, technological advances and im- proved social and economic conditions. The Department of Fisheries has, however, some grave responsibilities with respect to the fishery resource, its conservation and its wise uti- lization. This resource must be maintained in'per- petuity but at the same time the maximum permis- sible sustained harvest should be established and be made available. This ha r ve st or catch must in- clude, as a primary responsibility, the maintenance of a continuing source of fish for the domestic food purposes of native s of the Territories for as long as this need exists. To discharge the s e respon- sibilities properly, the Department r e qui r e s the best possible scientific knowledge of the fish popu- lations in the water areas involved. Much data for analysis are required in such factors as composi- tion of existing population s, growth rates, food source, etc. The De par t me nt and the Fisheries Research Board of Canada have over the years ac- quired a considerable amount of knowledge on north- to. ern lakes and a number of basic principles on re- source management have been formulated. There are, however, many complexities of a local nature 2 requiring mu ch additional study. Bearing in mind at all times the responsibility for safeguarding the resource, the Department has therefore proceeded in the past with the required and essential degree of caution, while compiling a 11 available information and knowledge for utilization at the time when aris- ing developments, as previously explained, w ou 1 d fully justify the need for expansion of the commer- cial catch effort. In order the refore that wise and controlled expansion of hitherto untapped resources can take place, the Department began planning with a view to orderly commencement of an expansion program, with fully adequate safeguards and provision for collection of scientific data upon which future man- agement policies can be based. This planning was determined in consultation with scienti St s of the Fisheries Research Board, who will have the re- sponsibility for the biological investigations form- ing part of the program, and associate d recom- mendations to the Department. In addition to commercial fishing, consider- able thought has been given to the future of domes- tic food fishing and to sports fishing. With regard to angling, we wish at this time to a 11 a y any un- founded but perhaps natural apprehension that there will be any curtailment of this important recreation in the Department's program. In actual fact, an- glers can continue to fish anywhere in the Terri- tories and some good lakes will be reserved exclu- sively f o r domestic fishing and angling. No com- mercial fishing will be permitted in these lakes. Some details of the program to become effec- tive Decernber 1, 1961, will be found on the follow- ing pages. 3 0000 fi (1) A large part of the Northwest Terri- tories ha s been divide d into eight ControlAreas for fisheries purposes, excluding Great Slave Lake, the area north of the Arc tic Circle, and the area bordering the western coa s t of Hudson Bay. In Gr eat Slave Lake, fishing activities will continue under existing regulatory measures. The boundaries of the eight Control Areas are define d in Appendix "C". See page 10 for general delineation map. (2) Within these areas certain lakes have been designated as being reserved ex- clusively for angling and domestic fishing. These are listed in Appendix "A". No commercial fishing will be permitted in the s e lakes. It should also be stressed that exclusive reser- vation insofar as angling is concern- ed refers only to the activity. There will be no reser vation for private individuals, gr oup s or lodges. Any person in possess ion of an angling license may fish. In return for these reservations, the Department may request co-operation of anglers in taking a creel census. It is important that intensity of effort, catches, etc., are known in angling lakes just as with commercial lakes. r 1 ( 3) Also within these areas certain lakes are designated as Experimental, lis- ted in Appendix "B". Commercial .2k*‘‘`;;i: operations will be permitted with cer- # die le. eir4 ee. ' r7 7 ;..7-• tain reservations dealt with later. At these la.kes concentrated scie nt if i c studies will take place. (4) The balance of the lakes in these areas will be known as Commercial or Quota. Where a lake lie s partly within one C ont r ol Area and partly within an o the r, such lake shall be deemed to lie within the Control Area in which the greater part of its surface lies. (5) The program for commercial fishing in the Contr ol Areas is to be con- ducted on the following principles and methods: (a) Quota s based on a sound and • proven formula have been estab- lished for all Commercial and Experimental lakes in each Con- trol Area. Basically this for- mula is 1-pound, round weight of whitefish and lake trout, annu- ally per acre of water Surface. This is a completely safe rate of exploitation. (b) However, to hold to this low rate of exploitation each year w ould be economically unsound for commercial enterprise and it would not provide the fishing intensity ne cessary for satis- factory attendant scientific sam- pling-and population studies. On the other hand, the total permis- sible catch, accor din g to the rate of exploitation, can be safely c omp re s sed into the period a lake is open because of the pro- tection afforded by the quota sys- tem. This is the method to be used by the Department, together with an additional closed or "fallow" period insofar as com- mercial fishing is concerned. (c) Briefly, for the Commercial lakes in C ont r o 1 Areas 1 to 6 inclusive, commercial fishing will be permitted on the basis of two years open followed by four years close d. Individual lakes will close whenever the quota for the lake has been taken, or at the end of two years, whichever comes first. The quotas for these lakes will be three pounds per acre. This is ba s e d on the total cycle of six years (2 open and 4 clo s e d) multiplied by the annual rate of -} lb. per acre. For Commercial lake s in Con- trol Ar ea s 7 and 8 commercial fishing will be permitted on the basis of two years open followed by two years closed. The quotas will be two pounds per acre. The cycle is four years multiplied by 1 2 pound per acre. 00- For any Experimental Lake s, p. commercial fishing will be per- ,a7 mitted on a ba s is of two pounds 110.4. per acre. Extension of the corn- 4 10 Fir mercial fishery beyond the two- year open pe r io d may be per- mitted in these lakes if research findings o r circumstances war- rant a continuing commercial operation. (d) The order of opening and periods of commercial operation in Con- trol Areas are indicated on the • map. Areas 2, 5, and 7 will open • first. As an example of the quota and the method on a Commercial Lake in Control Area 2, Faber • Lake has an area of 177.5 square miles, or 113,600 acres. At 3 pounds per acre the quota will be 340, 800 pounds , round weight, whitefish and lake trout. Faber . Lake will close either when this quota is taken or at the end of 1963, whichever comes first.