Mr. A. P. Low, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, examined before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that in the far northern waters there are no true salmon, but there is the Arctic salmon, which is found along the east side of Hudson bay from Cape Jones, and on the west side, north of the mouth of Churchill river. These are in many places very abundant and are caught freely in the summer time when they are out in the sea. They go into the sea about July and return to the rivers and lakes again some time in September. They are only out there about two months. This Arctic salmon is an excellent fish, beautifully coloured, a very fine salmon colour, and it is not so rich a fish as the Atlantic salmon. It resembles the western salmon more than it does the eastern or Atlantic salmon. The salmon fishery on Hudson bay would no doubt have commercial value were there an outlet to a market. The whitefish of Hudson bay is a very fine flavoured fish.
The portion of Hudson bay in the vicinity of Southampton island is where the whale fishing is done. Formerly it extended to Marble island.
In reply to various questions, Mr. Low said he had no knowledge of herring or mackerel going into Hudson bay, but there are some cod there. He had taken them up near Cape Fullerton and along that coast, but they have not been found very plentiful yet.
In the report of his explorations in 1893 and 1894, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell says:—“It is probable that some of the true salmon ascend the inlets and streams west of the northern part of Hudson bay, but the fact was not definitely determined.” Before the select committee of the Senate in 1907 he stated he did not know what fish there are along the shores of Hudson bay. “The Eskimos report that there are salmon and other fish there, but I did not see them myself.”
Plenty of Salmon Running.
Mr. Hanbury, speaking of his trip across country from Chesterfield inlet to the Arctic, reported “plenty of salmon running” in the northern rivers in June.
Mr. J. W. Tyrrell (“Through the Sub-Arctics of Canada”) states:—“Salmon of the very finest quality are found in abundance both in Hudson bay and strait. I have several times procured them from Eskimos and can testify as to their superior quality.” Mr. Tyrrell does not state whether any of these salmon were caught on the west side of the bay.
We find the following interesting paragraphs as to the fish along the Arctic coast in “Sport and Travel in Northern Canada” (Hanbury):—“On May 29, after travelling about ten miles, I obtained an observation for latitude which gave 68° 25′ north. Three miles more brought us to the east coast of Kent peninsula, or rather to a small inlet of the coast, where several Huskies were fishing with their copper fish-hooks through holes in the ice. In the evening they brought me seven of the fish they had caught, which proved to be codling, the same in appearance and size as those we have found around the coast of Great Britain. I was surprised to see these fish, for the Hudson bay Huskies had always denied the existence of any sort of cod in Hudson bay. The Arctic Husky name for these codling was u-wuk, and they were reported to be very plentiful along the coast at this time of year.”
According to Doctor Richardson:—“Trout of various kinds and of large size inhabit the rivers that fall into Arctic sea, and on the coast near the mouth of Coppermine river, a species closely resembling the sea-trout of England was abundant in the shallows.”
Fish in the Dubawnt and The Kazan.