WAYS OF KNOWING…
HOW TO FISH!
Western Sport Fishing
• Fishing for sport has brought many changes to natural lake ecology,
mostly for the sake of fun rather than nutrition
• Today ecologists assess and manage these changes using the ‘Bag
& Tag’ method to determine the health of fish populations
Fish Tagging Gun
Tagged fish, and hydro-acoustic tags
The best sport is ‘Catch & Release’ – this lake
Sturgeon will go back in the lake, and can live for
upwards of 100 years!
Traditional Fishermen in Northern Saskatchewan
were aware that lakes needed to be fished in a
sustainable way – their practices included natural
catch limits
The First Nations peoples “observed the lakes and the
numbers of fish that they caught. When numbers went
down they would move to another lake, or location on the
lake, so that stock would not be reduced. In this way,
fishing practices were ecologically sustainable.”
Fish populations provided a signal to the
people to live in balance with the land, and
to respect the health of the waters
Some Northern Dene stories relate messages about ecological balance
given by the presence of gigantic fish appearing:
… Doug Lamalice said the legend was passed onto him from his grandmother before she died,
and has been told by countless elders within the community. Elders described the creature as
large, black, and shiny, looking not fully alive, but not completely dead. Lamalice said the large
fish appeared only for a few days and, as the water rose, people gathered their gear and moved
inland for a few days until they received word the fish had disappeared.
“After she told me the story, she always said, ‘These things really happened,’” said
Lamalice. “I know it’s hard as a grown person to believe the things they hear in these stories,
but this is story that is part of our culture. I’ve heard a lot of legends and they’re hard to fathom,
but when something like this happens it concludes my thinking that it’s untrue.” It’s said the fish
first appeared at Fish Point on Hay River. Lamalice noted that close by there are sections of
Great Slave Lake that are nearly three miles deep.Elders said the fish appeared "long ago, back
when the world was new.”It wasn’t only a terrifying apparition, but Lamalice said his ancestors
took it as a warning.
“For them it was a sign of things to come and things that could happen,” he said. “They
did things more carefully after that. They said they learned to treat the land with respect and
not take what they didn’t need.”
Full News Article at: http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2012-07/jul2_12fish.html
Imagine if you met a giant Fish!
Use some paper in your classroom and cover an area on the floor
that is THREE METERS long, and up to ONE METER wide near the
middle
This is the space that a 150 year old, 280 kg Lake Sturgeon (they have
been caught in Saskatchewan) would take up in your classroom!
Imagine if you met a giant Fish!
Most River and Lake Sturgeon are much smaller, and lifespans of 30
to 80 years are more common… but 150 year old fish have been
caught and recorded in our province.
What kinds of changes to Saskatchewan’s Lakes and Rivers do you
think your giant sturgeon has experienced?
When fish are caught as a
source of food, Elders remind
us that…
Fish meat – delicious for people, and
kept dried as dog food in many
communities
Fish skins – traditionally made into
waterproof bags
Fish oils – act as grease, lamp oil, and
lubricants
EVEN Fish scales – can be boiled to
make glue, or used as decorative
elements. Dyed fish scale art is
applied to birch baskets and fishing
bags, and used to make jewelry in
some Northern communities.
To help you understand more about Saskatchewan’s fish,
•
practice the ‘Bag & Tag’ method with marbles,
•
or try your hand at making art with fish scales!