Monday 29 December 2014

LAKE NIPIGON COMMERCIAL FISHING


Nipigon Historical Museum Archives: L.M. “Buzz” Lein Research Files, 1978

Excerpts from: Canadian Geographic Aug/Sept 1978

Page 62

Commercial Fishing in Northern Ontario, by George Adams

“Commercial fishing started on Lake Nipigon as early as 1898 but wasn’t important until about 1910…

…with the continuance of favourable prices and successful establishment of better market conditions in the early 1900’s the industry expanded considerably.

Indicative of the active interest in commercial fishing  at this time was a 20 year lease that the Canada Fish Company negotiated in 1902 with the Province of Ontario for rights to fish Lake Nipigon.

The conditions of the lease, at $15,000 per year included a railway to the lake to be built by the company.  The fishing license  in this lease allowed 500 tons annually for the first three years and twice that amount for each year thereafter. Fortunately the full conditions of this license were not utilized.

Originally open water commercial fishing was confined almost entirely to lakes near suitable transportation.  The construction of the National Transcontinental across the top of Lake Nipigon gave access after 1907 to lakes in the formerly remote area.”

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