Sport fishing for Atlantic salmon in the waters of the Saint-Jean River dates back over 150 years.[3]
Natural Territory
The Saint-Jean River rises at about 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level in the southwest of Labrador. It runs through rugged terrain for 240 kilometres (150 mi) to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its mouth is 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Sept-Îles,[4] in Rivière-Saint-Jean Municipality, Minganie RCM. At its mouth the river is crossed by Quebec Route 138, then flows past the village of Rivière-Saint-Jean.[4]
The river basin covers 5,600 square kilometres (2,200 sq mi), is bordered to the northeast by the Romaine watershed, to the east by the Mingan watershed, to the west by the Magpie watershed and a small section to the northwest by Labrador.[1]
Ground
On the edge of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the area of the coastal plain, not very rugged, forms a strip of 10 km wide, with some low hills not exceeding 150 m in altitude.
Towards the north, the piedmont area rises to an altitude of 300 m and stretches for 22 km, in a relief of more rugged rounded rocky hills.
Further north, for approximately 100 km, the dominant physiographic zone occupies half of the territory of the Saint-Jean River watershed. It is a high plateau slightly inclined towards the south, very rugged and deeply cut by alluvial valleys, dominated at 1,023 m altitude by the massif located between the Saint-Jean river and the Rapide river.
On the Laurentian Plateau, at an altitude between 600 and 800 m, the north of the Saint-Jean River watershed is characterized by more undulating and less rugged relief.[1]
Saint-Jean River overview
Geography
According to the Dictionary of rivers and lakes of the province of Quebec (1914)[5]
Saint-Jean River, Saguenay County, flows through the Laurentians Mountains and empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence about (segment of 112 km (70 mi) down from the Moisie River, and (segment of 619 km (385 mi) from Quebec City. It is navigable for canoes for a stretch of (segment of 48 km (30 mi) up to a powerful waterfall that interrupts navigation. The shores from its mouth to about three miles are, according to the surveyor C.E. Forgues (1885), clay cliffs on which there is a layer of sand mixed with black earth, which makes this land suitable for growing potatoes and oats. The same clay extends along the coast for up to fifteen miles, but the terrain is not as good for culture. The main trees are white spruce, fir, birch, alder and willow. The climate is very healthy, but summer is short. According to Henry de Puyjalon (1841–1905), it is a salmon river of the first order. The hunting territories are also of great value. Between the two estuaries of the river there is a large plateau of good land on which the Rivière-Saint-Jean municipality is built, which has a population of 250 souls. The Robin House here has a large cod fishing establishment (Magpie).[6][5][7]
Toponymy
The Innu use the word "Usasumekw", which can be translated as Salmon River, "rivière à saumon" (French), to identify the watercourse.[8][9]
The toponym "Rivière Saint-Jean" was formalized on December 5, 1968, by Commission de toponymie du Québec.[9][2]
Fishing
In May 2015 the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks announced a sport fishing catch-and-release program for large salmon on sixteen of Quebec's 111 salmon rivers.[2]
These were the Mitis, Laval, Pigou, Bouleau, aux Rochers, Jupitagon, Magpie, Saint-Jean, Corneille, Piashti, Watshishou, Little Watshishou, Nabisipi, Aguanish and Natashquan rivers.
The Quebec Atlantic Salmon Federation said that the measures did not go nearly far enough in protecting salmon for future generations.
In view of the rapidly declining Atlantic salmon population catch-and-release should have been implemented on all rivers apart from northern Quebec.[10]
The Pourvoirie de la Haute Saint-Jean has exclusive rights to three fishing areas with 55 pools along 30 kilometres (19 mi) of the Saint-Jean and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) of the Salmon River (Rivière aux Saumons).[4]
Between 2012 and 2016 the annual average reported catch of salmon was 123 juveniles and 28 large fish, with 412 returned to the water.[11]
^ abc"19. Portrait of the Saint-Jean watershed"(PDF) (in French). Duplessis Watershed Organization (OBV). 16 October 2015. p. 8. Retrieved 29 September 2024. The Saint-Jean River has several major tributaries: the Labône and Rapide rivers drain the northwest of the watershed, the Poisset and Saumon rivers the center-west, the Saint-Jean-Nord-Est river the center-east and the Chambers and Saint-Cœur rivers the southwest
^ abc"Quebec Salmon river map"(PDF). Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks. 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024. Location of the 111 salmon rivers listed in Quebec
^"Fishing in the Saint-Jean River" (in French). Saumon. Retrieved 28 September 2024. ... 3 fishing sectors and grounds with exclusive rights, namely at the Saint-Jean Pavilion, the Grosses-Roches Pavilion and the Chutes Pavilion
^ abc"The heart of the North Shore, Saint-Jean River". The Association for the Protection of the Rivière-St-Jean (in French). Pourvoirie de la Haute Saint-Jean. 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2024. ... the catch limit per fisherman is 1 large salmon per 4-day stay and 2 small salmon less than 63 centimeters per day, up to a maximum of 3 per stay.
^ abRouillard, Eugène (1914). "Dictionary of rivers and lakes of the province of Quebec". Internet Archive (in French). Quebec Department of Lands and Forests, Quebec. pp. 91 of 432. Retrieved 23 September 2024. This stream is rather difficult to ascend, being intersected as it is by a series of falls and rapids, from its mouth to a distance of about thirty-four miles upstream.
^"Rivière Saint-Jean, Toponymic Feature ID". Gouvernement of Canada. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2024. Content advisory: The Canadian Geographical Names Database contains historical terminology that is considered racist, offensive and derogatory.
^ ab"Saint-Jean River, Minganie". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 5 December 1968. Retrieved 4 October 2024. We also note the Innu form Usasumekw, 'salmon river', to identify the watercourse.
^"Quebec salmon need stronger preservation rules, association says". CBC News. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2024. They are the Mitis, Laval, Pigou, au Bouleau, aux Rochers, Jupitagon, Magpie, Saint-Jean (Moyenne-Côte-Nord), de la Corneille, Piashti, Watshishou, Petite rivière Watshishou, Nabisipi, Aguanish and Natashquan rivers.
^"Assessment of the operation of the salmon in Quebec in 2017"(PDF). Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests. 15 February 2018. p. 305. Retrieved 4 October 2024. Salmon populations are found in 109 rivers and 5 tributaries of Quebec ... some of these waterways contain too few salmon for fishing to be possible.
