Volume 8, 1955 - The Arctic Circle - Home

VOL. VIII NO.2 THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR 33D. A. Munro visited Iceland in May to make a studyof the thriving eider.down industry which is in operation there,for use in setting up a similar industry for the Canadian Eskimo.An aerial survey of breeding populations of eiderducks along the east coast of Hudson Bay and on both sidEllofHudson Strait was made by Graham Cooch in the last week ofJune. Later he made an investigation of the Blue and LesserSnow geese breeding at McConnell River, south of Eskimo Point.and a total of 1,600 moulting geese were banded. The fallpopulations of these birds were studied by him and G. M. Stirrettalong the southern coast of Hudson and James bays from FortSevern to Rupert House. In late June E. H. McEwen made abrief survey of Snow Geese breeding at Kendall Island in thedelta of the Mackenzie River.Lake Claire in Wood Buffalo National Park has beenthe site of commercial fishing operations for gold eye (Amphiodonalasoides Raf.l on several occasions in the past. As a resultof investigations carried out by W. A. Sprules of the FisheriesResearch Board. commercial nettings were permitted in 1948,1949, and 1950. A licenced commercial fishery for this specieswas again in operation in 1954. The 250 ,000 pound round weightquota used in the past was not reached prior to 1954. At therequest of the Northern Administration and Lands Brand.. basicbiological information concerning goldeye in this lake wasobtained in 1954 by a limnologist of the Canadian Wildlife Service.Test nets were set before commercial operations began andrandom samples of goldeye were obtained. The fishing operationsproduced a remarkable catch of 240, 000 pounds of goldeye(dressed weightl. as well as nearly 8,000 pounds of walleye.The quality of all fish was rated good by the Department ofFisheries. The population of goldeye which ran into Lake Clairein 1954 was found adequate to provide for the licenced quota.Future commercial operations at this lake will be carefullyscrutinized and licenced in accordance with annual biologicalfindings.Canoe accident in the Belcher Islands, summer 1955.On August 6 Claude Desgoffe and two Eskimocompanions, Levi Ayagatawa and Noah Kodlayok, left theHudson's Bay Company post in the Belcher Islands. planning