Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Hay River (May 06/01) - Fishing is a retreating industry, even though it was another banner year for the freshwater industry.

"They are having a tough time with recruitment for young guys coming into the fishery," said the federal department of Fisheries and Ocean's (DFO) Larry Dow from Hay River.

Darrell Murdock is a fish grader at the Hay River fish plant. The freshwater winter fishing season ended in April. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation had record sales in recent years, but for fishers the cost of nets, boats and fuel rose tremendously. Fishing vehicles -- boats and snowmachines -- are licensed by DFO who hire fishers. Fishers must be commercially licensed or have a helpers' permit to work on the lake. They are usually paid by a percentage of the catch.

"You can make money in the good times but there are also bad times," said Dow, adding that fishing is one of the toughest ways to make a living. Fishers have to deal with weather and finding the fish.

"Sometimes the fish are there and then a week later they are gone," he said. Fish prices are another industry problem. Competition from overseas and Canada's great lakes make fish sales a tight business. "They are getting about the same price they got 20 years ago," said Dow.

Freshwater is a crown corporation that works with territorial and Prairie fishers. It is a monopoly, as far as buying fish and re-marketing goes. A lot of its fish are sold overseas. NWT fishers operate on Great Slave Lake, Kakisa Lake and Tathlina Lake. Great Slave fish are collected at three stations on the shores of the lake: the Hay River plant, the Moraine Bay station and the Wool Bay station. The freshwater fish industry is worth nearly $2 million to the NWT. But it's an industry with a low profile. "It doesn't get much respect. But when you look at all the dollars it adds up," said Dow.

There are about 150 mostly aboriginal fishers on Great Slave Lake. There are a few women but the majority are men. Yellowknife has one independently-run fish plant. The Buckleys sell a lot of their catch locally.