Eastwaters   The Marine website of Newfoundland and Labrador

    Home   Introduction  NF Map    Links     About    Guestbook 
Contents     What's New 

Salar and his cousins...

the salmonids of Newfoundland and Labrador

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)    (Courtesy Nova Scotia Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries)

When you think sportfishing in Newfoundland and Labrador, one family of finned creatures is paramount: the salmonids. At the top of that list is the famed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), but its cousins -- the several types of trout and the Arctic char that are native or have been introduced to the province -- all bring great pleasure to anglers on both fresh and salt water.

For eating, many would say the Atlantic salmon has no peer. That, plus its size and original population, made the salmon a prize for commercial as well as food and recreational fishers. But too much of this good thing eventually decimated salmon populations in Atlantic Canada so the commercial fishery for the most part is over and angling is now tightly regulated.

Trout have been less pressured and are caught by sport fishers. Char is caught commercially in parts of coastal Labrador, but it too is an angler's prize in both sections of the province. Few things can match the enjoyment of fly-fishing, spin-casting, ice-fishing, or trolling on the scenic lakes, ponds and rivers for a trout for supper. It's called trouting here. Some trout can also be caught in salt water by trolling along the seacoast.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (also known as the DFO) oversees angling of all species in Newfoundland and Labrador and controls the seasons, bag limits and fishing methods, following a five-year management plan. People wanting to fish for salmon or trout (or even non-salmonids such as northern pike in Labrador) for recreation should begin by getting and reading a copy of the DFO's annual Angler's Guide to help understand the regulations. Licences issued by the provincial Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation are required by everyone to fish any species in "scheduled" salmon waters. Trout licences are needed only by non-residents of the province whether fishing scheduled or non-scheduled waters.

There are more than 200 rivers in the province with Atlantic salmon populations. Scheduled waters are those the government lists individually in its regulations often with different fishing seasons and usually receiving greater enforcement efforts. Only fly fishing with barbless hooks is allowed with strict limits on the number of fish caught.

With its extensive wilderness and wealth of inland waters, Newfoundland and Labrador is an outdoors enthusiast's paradise. Angling for salmon, trout or char in these pristine areas only adds to that pleasure. On this page is some useful information about the valued salmonid family

Which is which?

There are six species of salmonids in this province. Atlantic salmon are found in both the island and mainland regions. On the island are also brook, brown and rainbow trout, and some Arctic char. In Labrador are char, brook and lake trout. Because of their relative isolation,  local names have evolved for some of these fish. 

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
(NFLAB Dept. of Forest Resources & Agrifoods)

Salmon are born in freshwater, mature in the sea, then return to their birthplace to spawn in October and November. A variation is the ounaniche, or landlocked salmon, which is a mature member of the species that has not made the traditional migration to salt water. Peel is a local name for grilse, a mature but undersized salmon returning to freshwater to spawn for the first time. Slinks or kelts are spent salmon that have finished spawning. Alvin are newly hatched fish which grow to become fry or fingerlings. When they reach about 8 cm (3 in.) they are called parr. Smolts are salmon about three years old and ready to migrate to the sea. Salmon usually return to saltwater after spawning and may return to spawn in freshwater rivers several times during their lives. Many large salmon migrate long distances at sea, but return to their home rivers to spawn. At one time, sizes ranged up to 30 kg (70 lbs)  but now the maximum is about 9 kg (20 lbs.).

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) 
(NS Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries)

As its name implies, this native species likes the cold, deep freshwaters of Labrador lakes. These are the largest North American trout and are native right across the continent, spending their entire lives in the cold depths of most suitable large bodies of water. For centuries they were a staple of aboriginal diets. A century and more ago, lake trout weighing nearly 45 kg (100 lbs.) were taken, but now they seldom exceed 9 kg (20 lbs.).

Rainbow trout  (Salmo gairdneri)
(Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries)

California was the source for this trout introduced in Newfoundland between the 1880s and 1908. They are now well settled in waterways on the Avalon Peninsula, and are said to have been introduced in Little Bay Islands, Notre Dame Bay and the Corner Brook area. Rainbows here live in both fresh and saltwater. In the latter, they become more silvery in colour and are called steelhead. At selected places on the island the species is grown through commercial aquaculture.

Brown trout  (Salmo trutta)
(NS Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries)

This trout is also an import, introduced from Germany and Scotland to the Avalon Peninsula around the same period as rainbows. The brown trout has thrived here. Most are content to live in the freshwater ponds and streams of the island but some go to sea to feed and become even more prized by anglers as their size can go up to 9 kg (20 lbs.).

Brook trout  (Salvelinus fontinalis)
(NS Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries)

Known locally as mud trout and often as speckled trout elsewhere, this fish is native to both parts of the province and is the most widely known because it thrives in all sizes of ponds and rivers. They are enthusiastically caught by anglers, including during the winter ice-fishing season and again from May to September. Like the brown, mud trout also are known to make their way to saltwater where they are referred to as sea trout and are eagerly fished with rod-and-line. 

Arctic char  (Salvelinus alpinus)
(NFLAB Dept. of Forest Resources & Agrifoods)

The char is actually a type of trout and is related to the province's other native salmonids, the lake and brook trout and Atlantic salmon. Char fall into two categories here: the anadromous type which lives in salt water but runs up rivers to spawn in freshwater, and landlocked char which is content to stay in freshwater lakes and rivers. Sea-run char are found more in the waters of northern Labrador than along the Newfoundland coast. Landlocked char, however, are frequent in parts of the island but are less numerous in Labrador than the sea-run type.

Their protectors

Because of their status and value to anglers, and thus the province's economy, salmonids and especially the Atlantic salmon are closely regulated and watched by the two government levels mentioned above. Monitoring this control carefully are several private groups of anglers and conservationists, which work together in the province and beyond.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASN) is concerned about this species throughout its habitat range, in North America and the eastern Atlantic. It is based in St. Andrews, NB. The ASN's regional counterpart is the Salmonid Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (SCNL), which is the umbrella group in the province.

Closely affiliated with the SCNL are two area groups. The Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland (SAEN) is dedicated to preservation of freshwater resources and wise management of salmonid resources in the eastern part of the island. On the island's opposite coast is the Salmon Preservation Association for the Waters of  Newfoundland (SPAWN), which includes all salmonids and which has similar goals to SAEN. SPAWN also publishes the highly regarded annual magazine Spawner.

At Grand Falls-Windsor at the mouth of the Exploits River in central Newfoundland is a Salmonid Interpretation Centre operated by the Exploits Environmental Resources Management Association. Underwater windows and other live displays allow visitors to view the freshwater species. The centre also has exhibits on biology and ecology.

Return to Top of Page              Return to Homepage