The history of the Atlantic Salmon in Lake Ontario

Abstract

The history of the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), also referred to as Salmon below, in Lake Ontario is an accumulation of authentic published accounts, which were almost completed by J. R. Dymond before his death. H. H. MacKay completed the work on Dymond’s behalf (Dymond and MacKay, unpublished, 1966), but it remained largely unknown. The present authors (MEB, EH, PWB) have sought to present an updated subset of Dymond and MacKay’s work as the history of Lake Ontario Salmon is a crucial story in the history of the Great Lakes and its fisheries. The information provided should add materially to the knowledge of the causes that led to the decline and ultimate extirpation of a fascinating and valuable fish, notwithstanding all the efforts that were made to restore it by artificial means.

Keywords:

• fisheries
• life history
• over-fishing
• mill dams
• deforestation
• Alewife

Acknowledgements

Funding for publication was gratefully received from the Royal Ontario Museum’s Department of Natural History.