For these reasons it is suggested that the possible production of
commercial fish in Great Slave Lake might run from three to five
million pounds annually.

The domestic demand for fish in the Great Slave Lake
section varies with the hunting conditions. The locality
is close to the caribou range in the Precambrian section to
the eastward, and a large proportion of the Indians depend
substantially on caribou for their own food and that of their
dogs. When caribou are abundant, less fish is required,
and thus the demand varies from year to year. It is reported
that about 1,600 Indians, with 3,000 dogs, subsist on fish
for a part of each year. This catch is taken only at certain
points in the lake, nearly all close to shore, and includes
much fish of no commercial value. The conclusion is that
in a lake of this size the commercial fishery would be unlikely
to interfere much with the domestic catch.

The absence of good harbours as a base for fishing
Operations over long stretches of the west shore that
front on good fishing grounds, notably the 100 miles of
shoreline from Old Fort Island to beyond Jones Point, is a

limiting factor in the development of commercial fishing on
this shore.

Great Bear Lake lies just below the Arctic Circle. It is
considerably larger than Great Slave Lake and exceeds
both Lakes Erie and Ontario in size. Its waters are cold —
ice-covered until late June—and often retain floating ice
until August. The waters are crystal clear and organic

production presumably is much lower than in comparable
lakes to the south.

Herring, whitefish, and lake trout are taken, also round
whitefish or stickfish, loche, dore, and pike, the latter
principally in the inflowing rivers.

Fort Franklin, at the outlet of the lake, is the centre of
a herring fishery which is carried on for the greater part of
the year. The best fishing is in June, falling off in summer
and improving from mid-September to freeze-up. Periodic
winter runs occur in December, February, and the early
spring months. Herring do not appear to be taken in
quantity elsewhere.

Whitefish, known as “kulva’’, are taken at various points,
and at Whitefish River a jumbo size attaining seven pounds
is frequently caught. The monster 30-pound whitefish
known as “ditchaharday” are regarded as a different species.
They are rare. Lake trout are found everywhere. They
run up. to 40 pounds and are regarded as game fish by the
white residents. Grayling are abundant in all waters
tributary to the lake.

It is impossible with present knowledge to assess the
potential of this huge sub-Arctic lake. On the surface,
the presence of such a small Indian population, the con-
centration of their fishing operations at only limited points
on the lake, variations in the herring run, a history of failure
of the runs leading to acute suffering in some years, the
low organic productivity of the lake, and the small apparent

[ 66 }

output, all point to the possibility that these waters may
not be able to support any substantial commercial fishery,
even if a market could be reached. Moreover, the lake is
stormy and rough.

Such a conclusion, however, on the thin evidence
available, would be dangerous. The fact is that until a
great deal more work is done, little more will be known
than at present about the economic possibilities of the fish
resources of this great inland sea.

In 1945, Great Slave Lake came into commercial fish
production for the first time. Gill fishermen, with factory
workers for the filleting operations, were sent in by an
Alberta company. Mechanical freezing equipment was set
up, and in the short period available for operation about
1,500,000 pounds of fish, dressed weight, principally lake
trout and whitefish, were shipped by refrigerated barge to
railhead at Waterways for furtherance to Canadian and
United States markets. Operations were continued in
1946, but results are not yet available. Consideration is
being given to the possibility of winter operations on the

lake.

In the same locality, attention is being given to the
commercial fishing possibilities of Tathlina and Kakisa
Lakes, which lie to the southwest of Great Slave Lake in
the vicinity of Hay River Settlement. These lakes would
appear in size (500 square miles and upwards) and charac-
teristics to be typical of numerous lakes across the area
thought to have commercial possibilities. These two are of
more immediate interest because of their proximity to the
road from Grimshaw to Hay River.

Investigation of these lakes is being undertaken by the
Dominion Department of Fisheries with the assistance of
provincial fisheries authorities.

The fisheries of Yukon, like those of north central
British Columbia, are of minor commercial significance.
A small amount of salmon and whitefish are taken and sold
locally, with a few trout and mixed fish. The total reported
caught and landed in 1944 was valued at not much over
$3,000, though the commercial value of unreported fish
taken and consumed locally across this vast area was
undoubtedly many times that amount.

Regulation and control of fisheries are among the most
dificult functions with which an administrative or con
trolling body can be faced. When complicated by inter-
national considerations, the problems arising in the past have
often defied solution and have led to friction, sabotage,
and sometimes to the creation of international “incidents”.
Although much has yet to be done, the results of the work of
the two international commissions in the North Pacific
indicate that an important formula for international co-
operation in the conservation, development, and regulation
of a high-seas fishery has been found, and a milestone passed
in the economic history of international relations.