The Early Atlantic Salmon Fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador

J.G. Reade was Librarian of the Dalhousie Ocean Studies Programme, Dalhousie University, Halifax.

This report covers the early development of the salmon fishery of Newfoundland and Labrador from the beginning of the eighteenth century to 1910, the date at which reliable and consistent statistical records become available. There is a short prefatory chapter on references to salmon fishing in the visits of Norsemen to Newfoundland and in the activities of the local Beothuk Indians.

The two main chapters deal with accounts of commercial salmon fishing, river by river — the methods used, the success or lack of success experienced, and the factors that contributed to the same. These factors include overfishing through the use of weirs and stake nets, poor relations between English and French settlers, encounters with Beothuk Indians using the same fishing areas, etc.

The author devotes considerable space to the explanation of the pre-1910 catch record. This is made necessary by the variation in the naming of containers for fish and the volume of these containers, by the state of the product (pickled/canned/refrigerated), by variations and gaps in the written record. This explanation is supplemented by an appendix listing catch data for each year from 1715 to 1910.

This brief study gives tantalizing glimpses into the various socioeconomic factors affecting the fishery during this period. It is a pity that this particular aspect of the study could not have been more developed. The compilation of data this study provides is valuable, however, as is the insight provided into early fishery management practices, or the absence thereof.