The Fish That Built Canada

Jul 1

Indigenous Foodways, Immigrant Traditions, and the Future of the Waters

Part of the series: “What We Eat on This Land: Reclaiming Canadian Food Stories”

In 1992, one of the world’s most famous fisheries came to a sudden halt.

For nearly five centuries, Atlantic cod had shaped life along the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The fishery supported communities, influenced settlement patterns, and became one of the defining industries of Atlantic Canada. But after decades of intense fishing pressure, including the expansion of industrial fleets and offshore harvesting, northern cod stocks declined sharply. On July 2, 1992, the federal government announced a moratorium on the northern cod fishery, deeply disrupting a way of life that had supported thousands of people.

The collapse of cod became a warning about what happens when a relationship with the natural world is reduced to numbers, quotas, and markets.

But the history of fish in Canada began long before commercial fleets crossed the Atlantic.

For Indigenous Nations, fish have long been central to food systems, cultural practices, and relationships with waterways. Salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, trout, and other species provided nourishment and supported trade networks across regions. Knowledge of fishing seasons, habitats, and preservation methods was developed over generations and passed through families and communities.

When settlers and immigrants arrived, they entered landscapes where fishing traditions already existed. They brought their own methods of preserving and preparing fish, from Scandinavian curing traditions to European methods of salting, drying, and smoking. Over time, these practices became part of the wider Canadian food story.

Today, fish remains connected to questions of food security, environmental stewardship, and cultural identity. Across the country, Indigenous communities and local fisheries are working to protect waterways and rebuild relationships with the species that have sustained people for centuries.

Fish as First Food: Indigenous Fishing Traditions

Long before Canada became a country, Indigenous Nations developed fishing practices shaped by the waterways around them.

On the Pacific Coast, salmon has been central to many Indigenous communities for thousands of years, with relationships shaped by specific rivers, territories, and cultural traditions. Nations including the Nuu-chah-nulth, Coast Salish, and others developed fishing practices adapted to the rivers, tides, and salmon runs of their territories. Different communities developed their own techniques, including nets, traps, hooks, and fishing sites designed around local conditions.

Salmon was valued not only as a source of food but also as a species with deep cultural, spiritual, and social significance among many Indigenous Nations.The return of salmon continues to be marked by ceremonies, teachings, and community gatherings among many Nations. These practices reflect responsibilities to care for the fish and the waters that sustain them.

On the Atlantic coast, Mi’kmaq communities have long harvested species including eel, gaspereau, and salmon as part of broader seasonal food systems connected to rivers, forests, and coastal waters. Fishing knowledge was connected to seasonal cycles, waterways, and harvesting practices developed over generations.

Freshwater fish have also played an important role across the interior of Canada. Species such as lake whitefish, trout, and sturgeon supported communities around lakes and rivers, including across regions that are now part of the Prairie provinces.

The relationship between people and fish was built through observation and experience. Knowing when fish moved, where they gathered, and how to preserve the harvest was essential knowledge in communities where food depended on the land and water.

Preserving the Harvest: Smokehouses, Drying Racks, and Fish Camps

A successful fishing season brought another responsibility: making the harvest last.

Before modern refrigeration, communities developed careful methods for preserving fish through the colder months. Smoking, drying, and salting allowed families to store food long after the fishing season ended.

Along the Pacific Coast, salmon was commonly prepared in smokehouses and drying areas. The process required detailed knowledge of preparation, weather, and timing. Properly preserved salmon could provide nourishment throughout the winter and could also be shared during gatherings and community events.

Drying racks became a familiar sight near rivers and fishing sites, where fish were prepared for storage. These methods were practical, but they also carried cultural meaning. The preparation and sharing of fish connected generations and reinforced relationships within communities.

Fish camps continue to be important places of learning in many Indigenous communities. They provide opportunities for younger generations to learn fishing practices, food preparation, language, and cultural teachings connected to the waterways.

These traditions have also experienced disruption. Colonial policies restricted Indigenous fishing rights in many regions, and the decline of fish populations has affected communities that rely on these species. Today, many Indigenous Nations are working to protect and restore fisheries while maintaining cultural practices connected to them.

Settler and Immigrant Fishing Cultures

Fish also became part of the food traditions carried by settlers and immigrants who arrived in Canada.

In Atlantic Canada, European fishing traditions grew alongside Indigenous knowledge and existing fisheries. French and British settlers developed coastal communities around cod fishing, developing systems of salting and drying that allowed fish to be transported across long distances. Salt cod became an important trade commodity and a staple food in parts of Europe, the Caribbean, and North America.

As immigration increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, newcomers adapted familiar preservation methods to the landscapes they found in Canada.

Scandinavian immigrants brought food traditions shaped by life near the sea and northern lakes. In Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, preserving fish through methods such as smoking, drying, salting, and curing developed as ways to store seasonal catches, support trade, and provide food through long winters. These traditions continued in Canadian communities, where access to freshwater fish provided a connection to both the new landscape and the foods left behind.

On the Prairies, fishing became part of rural and northern food systems. Communities around lakes and rivers relied on species such as lake whitefish, walleye (often called pickerel in parts of Canada), trout, and northern pike. Fish was sold commercially, traded locally, and prepared at home through methods passed down through families.

Ukrainian, Polish, German, and other European immigrants also contributed their own approaches to preserving fish, including pickling and smoking traditions. In many households, these methods were not simply recipes; they were ways of maintaining cultural identity while adapting to a new environment.

The result was not one Canadian fishing tradition, but many. Indigenous foodways, immigrant practices, and regional adaptations all became part of how communities understood and used the waters around them.

From Abundance to Crisis: The Changing Fishing Landscape

For much of Canadian history, fish appeared to be an endless resource.

That perception changed dramatically during the 20th century. Advances in fishing technology, larger commercial fleets, and growing international markets placed increasing pressure on fish populations.

The collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery remains one of the clearest examples. For centuries, cod supported coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, but decades of heavy fishing pressure caused stocks to decline. The 1992 moratorium on northern cod fishing devastated many communities, forcing thousands of people to leave the industry that had defined their lives.

The effects were not limited to one species or one region. Across Canada, fish populations have been affected by habitat loss, pollution, changing water temperatures, invasive species, and the impacts of climate change.

Freshwater fisheries have faced their own challenges. Changes to waterways, industrial development, and declining habitat have affected species that communities have depended on for generations.

These challenges have also raised larger questions about how fisheries are managed. For many Indigenous Nations, modern struggles over fishing rights and conservation are connected to a much longer history of colonial restrictions on access to traditional waters and harvesting practices.

Restoring fish populations requires more than increasing numbers on a chart. It requires understanding the relationships between fish, waterways, and the communities that depend on them.

Reviving the Waterways: Indigenous Leadership and Local Stewardship

Across Canada, Indigenous communities are leading efforts to restore fish populations and protect the ecosystems that support them.

In British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, the Syilx Okanagan Nation has played a central role in restoring sockeye salmon to the Okanagan Basin. Through organizations such as the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Indigenous knowledge, habitat restoration, monitoring, and conservation programs have supported efforts to rebuild salmon runs that had declined dramatically.

The Nisga’a Nation in northwestern British Columbia has maintained its own fisheries governance systems while continuing cultural practices connected to salmon. Their work reflects the importance of maintaining both healthy fish populations and the ability of communities to continue harvesting according to their own traditions.

In the St. Lawrence River region, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has been involved in environmental monitoring and restoration work connected to waterways and fish populations. Indigenous-led research and stewardship programs across the country increasingly combine traditional ecological knowledge with scientific approaches to better understand changing ecosystems.

These projects share a common idea: healthy fisheries depend on healthy relationships between people and the environment.

Local fishers, conservation groups, and small-scale fisheries are also working to support more sustainable practices. Many communities are looking toward approaches that value long-term ecological health rather than short-term extraction.

Fish as Food, Memory, and Responsibility

The story of fish in Canada is a story written across rivers, lakes, and coastlines.

It is found in salmon returning to Pacific rivers, cod once filling the waters of the Atlantic, whitefish harvested from northern lakes, and smoked fish prepared in kitchens across the country.

It is also a story of knowledge passed between generations. Indigenous Nations have maintained relationships with fish and waterways through practices developed over thousands of years. Immigrant communities carried preservation traditions across oceans and adapted them to new landscapes. Rural and coastal communities built identities around the species that sustained them.

The challenges facing Canadian fisheries are significant, but the future is not only about what has been lost. Across the country, communities are restoring waterways, protecting habitats, and renewing traditions that connect people to the places they call home.

Fish has always reflected the relationship between people and the land around them. The question now is whether those relationships will guide the future.