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Fish are prolific animals in our collections!
These records typically document “fishy” things that have been most important to people—especially fishing. They also show the ongoing influence of human actions on fish populations, whether it be the effects of settlement and industry or the management of fish stocks.
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Ontario Department of Travel and Publicity, Fishing for Fun in Ontario, [ca. 1946]
Gov Doc T&P Misc Box 3 no. 31
Archives of Ontario Library Collection, I0073999
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Tom Thomson fishing, likely in Algonquin Park, [between 1910 and 1917]
William Colgate collection
F 1066-6
Archives of Ontario, I0010312
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Letter from David Ciglen, Secretary of The Meaford and District Chamber of Commerce to G.H.U. Bayly, Deputy Minister of Lands & Forests, October 18, 1968
Fish hatcheries supervisors’ correspondence
RG 1-281-0-47
Archives of Ontario, I0073993
Our collections feature many records documenting fish meeting their fate. This photo of a family of American tourists also reflects the economic importance of fishing as a draw to prospective visitors from south of the border since the 19th century.
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Harry King & daughter Sandra and son Jimmy of Eau Claire, Wisconsin with catch of fish, Caliper Lake, Quetico Park, June 10, 1956
Ministry of Natural Resources Photo Library collection
RG 1-448-1
Archives of Ontario, I0054244
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Ice fishing, Lake Simcoe, 1959
Department of Travel and Publicity, Tourism promotion photographs
RG 65-35-3, 11764-X3468
Archives of Ontario, I0005628
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Woman lands one while fly casting, trout stream near Sault Ste. Marie, August 15, 1949
Ministry of Natural Resources Photo Library collection
RG 1-448-1
Archives of Ontario, I0054241
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Wanda Van Ness (age 4) holding Ouananiche Salmon Trout, North Brook, Ontario, May 1955
Ministry of Natural Resources Photo Library collection
RG 1-448-1
Archives of Ontario, I0054243
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Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, Our Forest Lands and What We Get from Them!, [ca. 1963]
Govt Doc L&F Misc Box 5 no. 4
Archives of Ontario Library Collection, I0073953
Commercial fisheries have been present on the Great Lakes and other areas of Ontario for centuries. Fishing was one of the first industries established by European settlers in the province, and it plays a key role in the local economies of many Indigenous communities.
![Fishermen pulling in fish, Winona, [ca. 1910s]](../../../../images/animalia/fish/Fishermen_pulling_in_fish.jpg)
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Fishermen pulling in fish, Winona, [ca. 1910s]
Harry Beattie fonds
C 278-1-0-12-61
Archives of Ontario, I0021339
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Aboard Clarence Aulder, Kingsville, Ontario, 1953
Fisheries Branch photographs
RG 1-659
Archives of Ontario, I0054249
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Phillip Mathew of Fort Severn removing whitefish from a gillnet in the estuary of the Severn River, July 26, 1955
John Macfie fonds
C 330-14-0-0-175
Archives of Ontario, I0012802
Sea lampreys look straight from a horror film! These underwater predators use their sucker-like mouths to drain the blood of their prey.
Lampreys also illustrate the environmental impact of humans. Originating in the Atlantic Ocean, lampreys were first seen in Lake Ontario in the 1830s after completion of the Erie Canal. After expansion of the Welland Canal in 1919, the species spread to Lake Erie and eventually the rest of the Great Lakes.
By the 1950s, lampreys had devastated populations of lake trout, a popular species for commercial and recreational fishers. One solution—mechanical barriers—didn’t work. The Canadian and US governments responded by establishing the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. By 1962, the lamprey crisis had subsided, following the application of a chemical that killed lamprey larvae.
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Lamprey attached to fish, Saugeen River, Southampton, Lake Huron District, May 1955
Ministry of Natural Resources Photo Library collection
RG 1-448-1
Archives of Ontario, I0054239
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Sea lamprey mouth, slide from Bringing Back the Great Lakes Fishery: A Presentation of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 1982
Fisheries Branch photographs
RG 1-659
Archives of Ontario, I0054247
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Drop-off of Lake Trout Production in Lake Michigan, slide from Bringing Back The Great Lakes Fishery: A Presentation of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 1982
Fisheries Branch photographs
RG 1-659
Archives of Ontario, I0073989
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Removal of lampreys from weir, Thessalon, Ontario, June 1, 1949
Ministry of Natural Resources Photo Library collection
RG 1-448-1
Archives of Ontario, I0054237
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Big Creek lamprey survey, Streams surveyed by Joost Elbrink, June 20, 1955
Fish and Wildlife Branch watershed data files
RG 1-62
Archives of Ontario, I0073988
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Results of Sea Lamprey Control, slide from Bringing Back The Great Lakes Fishery: A Presentation of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 1982
Fisheries Branch photographs
RG 1-659
Archives of Ontario, I0073990
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