Salmon Investigations on the Koksoak River, 1957

Abstract

Continuing the investigations that were begun at the George River in 1956, the salmon population of the Koksoak River was examined during the summer of 1957. Sampling was by the use of nylon gill nets placed at various stations along the river and its two major tributaries, the Kaniapiskau and the Larch. A fairly large sample of juvenile salmon was obtained by angling. It was found that probably the majority of the Koksoak salmon travel up the Larch River to spawn. How far they can ascend is not known, but they do so for a minimum of 60 miles and probably can go much farther. Only the lower 20 miles of the Kaniapiskau River are accessible to salmon, beyond this they are stopped by the 60-foot Limestone Falls. On the basis of catches of adult salmon twenty times as many ascend the Larch than the Kaniapiskau; however, since only one salmon was taken in the Kaniapiskau in 30 net nights, this estimate is probably not reliable. The Eskimo salmon fishery at Fort Chimo was observed when it was in full swing and a good sample of the catch was examined. This fishery can hardly be described as intensive and undoubtedly the Eskimo could obtain far more salmon. The major obstacles are (1) the high cost of gear; (2) the difficulties of fishing the Koksoak River at Fort Chimo due to the large size of the stream and the strong tidal currents; (3) the coincidence of the fishing season and the time of seasonal employment in loading and unloading the ships. This occupation is very attractive because the Eskimo can earn $1.40 per hour, whereas fishing does not bring in cash, only a supply of dog food for the winter. ... In addition to collecting, physiological studies on the speckled trout [brook trout] and the Atlantic salmon were continued. These involved measurements of the basal oxygen consumption of these fish under different temperature regimes at different seasons. Results obtained for the speckled trout in previous years suggested that diurnal temperature fluctuations at low temperatures had an exaggerated effect on the oxygen consumption of the fish. To complement the hourly measurements of temperatures made in conjunction with the physiological experiments, a number of continuous recordings were obtained using a thermograph .... The results of these investigations, which were supported by a Banting Fund grant from the Arctic Institute of North America and a grant from the Department of Fisheries, Quebec, will be published in detail later.