THE ATLANTIC SALMON OF THE GULF OF 



ST. LAWRENCE 



By DAVID L. BELDING 



BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, BOSTON, MASS., AND QUEBEC SALMON COMMISSION 



The Gulf of St. Lawrence is bounded on 

 the east by Newfoundland, on the south by 

 Nova Scotia, on the west by New Bruns- 

 wick and Quebec, and on the north by Que- 

 bec. It is connected with the Atlantic 

 Ocean on the north by the Strait of Belle 

 Isle, between Newfoundland and Labrador, 

 and on the south by Cabot Strait, between 

 Newfoundland and Cape Breton. Because 

 of the importance of its salmon fisheries, 

 the multiplicity of its famous salmon 

 rivers, the varied characteristics of its sal- 

 mon, and its geographical situation the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence offers an excellent 

 field for the study of the Atlantic salmon. 



The depletion of the supply of salmon 

 has become in recent years a topic of popu- 

 lar interest among all classes of salmon fish- 

 ermen. The shore fishermen are vitally 

 concerned with the welfare of the commer- 

 cial fisheries, and the anglers and river men 

 are deeply interested in the maintenance 

 of the salmon rivers. Likewise, the per- 

 petuation of the salmon stock is of consid- 

 erable importance to the provincial govern- 

 ments, which not only derive directly a 

 large revenue through the leasing of rivers 

 to anglers, but also benefit indirectly 

 through the employment of many of their 

 citizens who cater to the anglers and par- 

 ticipate in the commercial salmon fisheries. 



While there is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to whether or not a widespread 

 decline is under way, since adequate sta- 

 tistics are lacking, nevertheless there are 

 disconcerting instances of local diminution. 

 The recognition that the early institution 

 of practical methods of conservation may 

 prevent a serious diminution of the salmon 

 fisheries, and that effective measures de- 

 pend upon an accurate knowledge of the 

 local habits and movements of the salmon 



26 



resulted in the inception of a general inves- 

 tigation of the salmon of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence in 1937, when a series of coop- 

 erative tagging experiments was under- 

 taken by Newfoundland, Canada, and the 

 Province of Quebec. These experiments 

 had as their objectives the tracing of the 

 progress of the salmon in their general and 

 local onshore movements during their 

 spawning journey toward the rivers, and 

 the determination of the characteristics 

 which differentiate the salmon of the vari- 

 ous sections of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

 The facts presented in this paper have been 

 derived from these experiments and from 

 previous studies by the writer of the char- 

 acteristics of the salmon of the various sec- 

 tions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence during 

 the years 1930 to 1937 inclusive. 



The salmon of this region remain from 

 two to five years as parr in the rivers. Ex- 

 cept for occasional captures during their 

 pre-grilse life, little is known of their oce- 

 anic habitat after they leave the rivers as 

 smolt. During this period it is possible 

 that they may remain in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence or that they may migrate to great 

 distances in the ocean. Various theories 

 have been offered, one of the most plausible 

 being that the salmon frequent the slopes 

 of the North Atlantic offshore banks. After 

 having spent one, two or three years in the 

 sea, they return to the coastal waters in 

 May and June in order to enter the rivers 

 in the late spring, summer and fall for the 

 purpose of spawning about the first of No- 

 vember. The salmon are first observed in 

 the vicinity of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 

 the Port-aux-Basques drift-net fishing area 

 on the north side of Cabot Strait in early 

 May. During the last of May they appear 

 off the New Brunswick and Quebec shores, 



