Salmon Fisheries of the St. Lawrence and its Tributaries

By the 1850s, travellers and sportsmen had completed an inventory of the rivers of Québec and evaluated the salmon populations. These early books, like this 1857 publication, The Salmon Fisheries of the St. Lawrence and its Tributaries, helped to promote sport fishing and contributed to the rise and spread of the sport. By the 1880s, most of Québec’s rivers were attracting fisherman from Canada and the United States. The government of Québec was beginning to lease fishing rights. This was the beginning of the private fishing clubs and private “water” that made the Gaspésie and North Shore two of the world’s great fishing destinations.