Brent Reaaney
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Aug 15/05) - Having fished the Mackenzie River since he was a boy, Inuvik's Willie Simon can remember catching a chum salmon every so often. But last year's catch brought a brand new breed.

"I didn't know what kind of fish it was. I had to call (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) up to define it," said the 65-year-old.

Chum, or dog salmon, have been reported in Northern waters for years. DFO records show a sockeye salmon as having been caught in Holman as far back as 1966.

But a sockeye caught by another Inuvik fisherman in the Mackenzie in 2003 was said to be the first-ever recorded in the area.

And last year was the first time Simon remembers catching pink, and coho as well.

"There seemed to be more, and different kinds, too," he said. "They were catching them all over the place, Arctic Red, and McPherson, and Aklavik I imagine, too."

He and his wife caught about 20 salmon - 15 of which he brought into the DFO office.

Last season, fishermen brought in 60 whole salmon to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans offices, more than any other year combined.

DFO paying for fish

To help gather information about where these fish might be coming from, the department is paying up to $50 to anyone willing turn in a whole fish of any salmon species, as long as they can say where, when, and who caught the fish.

According to DFO fisheries management biologist Erin Hiebert, warming temperatures may be the reason for the influx of fish.

Under normal conditions, the fish can live for about two years in fresh water before migrating out into the ocean for up to seven years.

Indication of climate change

"It is an indication of climate change because historically the water temperatures (in the Mackenzie River) have been too cold for them to successfully live and make it back out to the ocean," he said.

But not enough hard data exists to determine if the river's water is indeed undergoing a warming trend.

No species of salmon has been proven to spawn in the Mackenzie River, Hiebert said.

One possibility is that fish may be strays from other populations either near Alaska, or off the coast of British Columbia. "Migrations can be huge, they can stray immense distances," she said, noting sockeye salmon tagged off the coast of B.C. have been tracked as far away as Russia.

Much of their time is spent in the ocean, making it hard to gather information about the animal's activities.

People wishing to eat the fish can still provide the head and a few scales, as well as measurements.

"Hopefully we'll be able to figure out where these fish are coming from and whether they're strays or not," she said.

Having a large number of salmon present in the Mackenzie River will create competition for food, Hiebert said.

And adult salmon die after spawning in fresh water. If they are spawning in the Mackenzie River, the dead adults may leave important nutrients for other species to feed on, Hiebert said.

Heading out last weekend

Simon has not caught a salmon in his first trip out this year, but was planning to head to his usual spot about 15 miles south of Inuvik this past weekend. He does not know why the fish are coming around, but seems happy they are.

"It's quite nice to get a good pink salmon. You don't get that very often," said Simon. "It's pretty expensive stuff."

DFO offices in Inuvik, Yellowknife and Hay River are all accepting salmon.