A group of Quebec anglers hooked into a giant halibut on Sunday that weighed over 100 pounds. With the help of two other fishermen, Rémi and Mathieu Aubin landed the fish after a four-hour battle. But first, they had to widen the hole they’d cut. It’s an image that many hard-water anglers would have a hard time wrapping their minds around: pulling a 109-pound Atlantic halibut through the ice.

U.S. anglers regularly chase Pacific halibut along the northern reaches of the West Coast — particularly in Alaskan waters. We can even target Atlantic halibut off the coast of Maine, which holds a brief sportfishing season in May and June. We can also fish for a bounty of freshwater species during the winter, when the ice on our local lakes gets thick enough. However, there are very few places, especially in North America, where you can ice fish for the world’s largest flatfish.

One of these locations is Saguenay Fjord in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. It’s where a large freshwater river, the Riviére Saguenay, meets the St. Lawrence River as it forms a narrow, deep inlet in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This creates a unique fishery where the fresh water from the river flows over the salty water of the gulf and freezes solid. (Seawater freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater, and it has to be colder for longer since bays are typically deeper than lakes.)

Canadian ice fishermen have long plied these waters, and over the years, there’s been the occasional report of an angler catching a giant Atlantic halibut while fishing for cod, skates, and other species. But since Atlantic halibut are protected — they’re classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature — the law has traditionally required sport fishermen to release any halibut they catch. This changed in 2022, when the Canadian government decided to make an exception to the law in the name of science.

The Atlantic Halibut Winter Fishing Project for Scientific Purposes has continued in the Saguenay Fjord in the two years since. It allows ice fishermen in the area to harvest a total of 100 Atlantic halibut over the course of a season. They must first obtain a special license from a local scientific committee, and the minimum length for harvest is 85 centimeters, or around 33 inches. (Regulations still require smaller fish to be released alive.) These harvested fish are then studied by scientists so they can learn more about the halibut that inhabit the fjord.

Read Next: Michigan’s Shortest Fishing Season Lasted Exactly 36 Minutes This Year

“Studies suggest that the populations of some groundfish species in the Saguenay Fjord are ‘sink populations,’ which means they are isolated from those of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence,” scientists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada write. “In the case of Atlantic halibut, this issue has been little studied … and the data collected during the project will help advance knowledge of the species.”

The 109-pound Atlantic halibut that Rémi and Mathieu Aubin caught on Jan. 21 was the first one harvested as part of the scientific project this winter. A series of videos uploaded to Facebook show the two anglers fighting, landing, and then weighing the massive fish in front of a crowded room at the Musée du Fjord.

Neither of them were able to provide comment on the catch due to a language barrier (both men speak French), but Mathieu posted photos of the halibut on Facebook a day after they caught it.

“What to say after 24 hours…honestly I’m still speechless,” Mathieu writes in a translated version of the Facebook post. “Living this moment with Rémi Aubin touches me enormously. When I was younger, only a few years old, he took me with him to different bodies of water, [including] of course the majestic fjord. He not only passed on this passion to me, but more importantly, these values!”

Mathieu adds that, in honor of those values, he’ll be donating the meat from the giant halibut to 16 people in need. He clarifies that he won’t be accepting any money in return because, just like in the U.S., it’s illegal for sport anglers to sell their catch in Canada without a commercial license.

By Maureen Littlejohn

Dressed head to toe in bright red weatherproof gear, members of our whale-watching group laughed and yelped as we hit a wave and salty spray came over the side of the Zodiac. Then we quickly got back to business. We were scanning the horizon at Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, looking for whales.

Located in Québec where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence River, the park is one of the best places in the world to see the lords of the sea.

Suddenly, the woman in front of me cried out and pointed.

"Two o'clock," she shouted.

I turned my head and could just make out two small white humps breaking through the water.

Our guide-interpreter, who sat elevated above us with the captain, came over the loudspeaker. “Those are some of the resident belugas that live year-round in this area. They are endangered, so we must keep 400 metres away and not disturb them," she said first in French, the province's official language, and then in English.

It was disappointing not to be able to get closer, but, for the whales' sake, I was glad. The captain was playing by the park's strict rules which have been evolving ever since the protected area was opened in 1998.

Although it was a bit early in the season to see other transitory whales, we were blessed to see (at a distance) more small pods of belugas. We also cruised by a rock covered with sun-bathing harbour seals who also make this region a year-round home.

I was on board a 24-passenger Zodiac operated by Croisières AML. The company offered several whale-watching tour options that departed from Tadoussac harbor, including on larger, covered ships. Most tours are two or three hours and all comply with the regulations of the marine park. There’s even a whale sighting guarantee. If the whales were a no-show, they would issue you a ticket valid for another tour to try your luck again.

The village of Tadoussac is located at a prime spot for sightings of marine life, at the confluence of the Saguenay and St. Lawrence rivers. Upon visiting the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre, also in the harbor area, I learned that whales were often seen from land.

"I saw a minke whale in front of the centre this morning," confirmed Christine Stadelmann, one of the centre's two chief naturalists.

The site was a gold mine of marine information. Touching the centre’s many whale skeletons was encouraged and exhibits were dedicated to educating the public about the species that frequent the park and the challenges of protecting them.

"There are 12 types of whales that come here to feed seasonally including minke, humpback, fin, right and even blue whales,” explained Stadelmann. “The undercurrents make it a very nutritious place."

From early June to late October, whales, seals and seabirds travel thousands of miles to get their fill. Why is this area such a bountiful feeding ground? Small fish and krill are brought into the St. Lawrence’s deep channel by the tides and are then trapped when the current meets the outgoing waters of the Saguenay River. They are easy pickings for creatures further up the food chain.

Belugas, year-round residents, are the stars of the show in the marine park. While other species come in to feed and then depart for warmer waters to give birth, belugas have their babies here.

Concerns about their dwindling numbers in this area — estimates were under 900 at one time — led to the creation of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park in 1998. In a unique collaboration, it is jointly managed by the federally run Parks Canada and Sépaq, (Société des établissements de plein air du Québec') Québec's provincial parks agency.

Covering 1,245 square kilometers (480 square miles), the park starts along the north shore of the St. Lawrence at Gros cap a l'Aigle near Saint-Fidele and continues upriver to Les Escoumins. From where the Saguenay River enters the St. Lawrence at Tadoussac, it also covers the Saguenay Fjord for 87 kilometres (54 miles) to Cap a l'Est, just past Sainte-Rose-du-Nord.

Part of the Parks Canada marine research occurs from five land-based observation points. Pointe-Noire Interpretation and Observation Centre overlooks the mouth of the Saguenay River. Scientists monitor activity by counting boats and whales and observing their interaction with high-powered binoculars.

That's where I met up with Cristiane Albuquerque, a Parks Canada ecosystem scientist who has been studying whales since 1998.

“The entire beluga population in this region, including beyond this park, is around 1,500 to 2,200,” she explained. “This protected area is around 40 percent of their habitat. The remaining 60 percent is beyond park boundaries, further out into the St. Lawrence.”

One of the smallest whale species, adult belugas are between 12 and 15 feet long and can weigh between one and two tons. A brownish-grey color at birth, belugas become white between ages 10 and 12 and live up to 60 or 70 years.

An Arctic species, the majority of the world’s population lives in polar waters. The “canaries of the sea,” known for their chatty vocalizations, arrived in the St. Lawrence around 7,000 years ago after the icecap had melted and the earth's crust had partially rebounded.

Up until the end of the 19th century, the population was between 8,000 and 10,000. Sadly, because fishermen thought they were the reason the cod stocks were being depleted, they were almost hunted to extinction. Scientific research has since proven that their diet contains only smaller fish and bottom dwellers such as clams.

Although whaling was banned in 1979, the beluga population remains in a precarious position.

To address the situation, increased marine park regulations have come into force. As of 2002, boats were not allowed to stop and watch the belugas. Speed reduction to between five and 10 knots was added in 2017, and vessels were warned to slowly move away if a beluga whale came near.

Boaters must stay at least 400 metres (1,312 feet) away from belugas and blue whales, both of which are classified as species at risk. For other species, the distance is 100 to 200 metres (330 to 660 feet) away.

The most recent regulations came in 2018, banning all boats and watercraft from the mouth of Baie-Sainte-Marguerite on the Saguenay River where beluga mothers go to give birth and raise their calves.

“Before, in Baie-Sainte-Marguerite, the belugas would leave when boats came in, or they would alter their behavior, always being alert to the vessels,” said Albuquerque. “Because of that, they were not breastfeeding their babies and teaching them to socialize."

Belugas are social creatures and travel in groups. Albuquerque has seen mothers and calves in pods of 10 and groups as large as 100. One socializing behavior, in particular, captured her attention in Baie-Sainte-Marguerite. "Five belugas will float in a circle with their heads together. Then they poke their heads up and look around. It is called spy-hopping. When they look up, they are able to change the shape of their head. It's like you can see the brain moving around.”

She said it's too early to say how the new regulations are impacting birth and mortality rates for the whales, but there has been a positive buy-in from the public. "When I was here in 2016, 40 percent of the bay was filled with boats, but since the closure, they don’t come in, don't stop, and keep their distance."

To learn more about the regulations, I connected with Chloé Bonnette, partnership manager for the park. We met at the Beluga Interpretation Centre at the Baie-Sainte-Marguerite sector of the Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay, a land-based beluga whale-watching site operated by Sépaq.

She told me commercial whale-watching companies are issued permits by Parks Canada and captains must complete training on how to navigate the marine park’s waters. “They can't specifically advertise beluga whale watching,” she said. If you see these snow-white creatures on a tour, you are lucky.

For the last few years, a program dedicated to awareness has sent teams of park representatives to engage boaters at marinas and on water in the region, telling them about the new regulations and why they need to be followed.

The marine park website has also introduced a new training course called Navigating Whale Habitat that informs boaters how to ply the waters without disturbing marine mammals. This is important because birth for belugas is tough. Gestation is 14 months, there is only one calf and mortality rates are high.

Cancer, likely due to pollutants in the water, was another challenge that contributed to declining numbers. But that seemed to have changed in recent years. Bonnette said that a symposium in May revealed that cancer has not been seen since the autopsy of a dead whale that washed ashore in 2011.

She explained that the pollutants settled on the bottom of the estuary, where the whales glean most of their food. "Since industry was banned from expelling waste into the St. Lawrence in 1988, the water has slowly been restored."

Even so, the beluga population is still very much at risk. Their numbers have not been declining, but neither are they growing.

As scientists continue to monitor the whales and study their environment, the impact of the new regulations will be assessed. It will take many years to reach conclusive results but the goal is increased fecundity (fertility) and decreased mortality.

The governments of Canada and Québec announced earlier this year that they are beginning work to expand the marine park’s boundaries. Currently, perspectives are being sought from stakeholders in the project, including regional and municipal organizations, Indigenous nations, research groups and local businesses. Tourism, science and commerce all need to be considered when implementing strategies to protect St. Lawrence marine life, especially the belugas. Let’s hope the right balance is struck to safeguard these magnificent creatures and allow them to thrive.

National Parks Traveler is a small, editorially independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization. The Traveler is not part of the federal government nor a corporate subsidiary. Your support helps ensure the Traveler's news and feature coverage of national parks and protected areas endures.

EIN: 26-2378789

National Parks Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Three fisherman, 4 hours and 1 big fish

Three Quebec fisherman in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region have become local heroes, weaving a tale of a lifetime. After three years of mastering the art of Halibut fishing as part of a scientific study and following a four-hour combat, the group managed to reel in a 109-lb or 49 kg Atlantic halibut fish. Meet two of the men who shared their story with Global News.

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Fishers have been known to spin a yarn or two, but three Quebec men out on a scientific ice fishing expedition in the Saguenay over the weekend made sure to document their adventures.

And it’s a lucky thing too, because Mathieu Aubin reeled in a 109-pound Atlantic halibut on Sunday for the catch of a lifetime.

Aubin said the trio, consisting of him, his uncle Rémi Aubin and a friend, set out on foot Sunday morning after first making sure the ice on the fjord was thick enough.

Every now and again they would stop and drill holes, to check not only the ice thickness but also the depth of the water.

To catch a halibut, they figured a depth of about 650 feet was ideal. It’s information the group has gleaned over the three years halibut fishing has been allowed there.

Not much is known about the species living in the Saguenay — hence the need for a scientific study.

Anyone hoping to catch the fabled fish has to be registered to do so.

After walking for two kilometres, dragging their gear and drilling their holes, the men put in their lines and settled in as best they could.

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“It was difficult,” Remi said. “It was very cold on the ice with high winds — up to 40 kilometres an hour.”

Mathieu dropped his line and immediately pulled up a cod. It would be another hour before the action really got underway.

In the meantime, there was a bit of back and forth and Mathieu was reflecting on his new fishing rod. He made it himself, specifically to catch halibut, at the fishing shop he now owns. The store has been in the family since 1932 and passed down from one generation to the next.

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“So I was telling my uncle I really liked the hatch and I really liked the rod and I’m so happy about it,” Mathieu recounted. “Then five minutes after I got really a big hit.”

He said he knew right away that it was a halibut because of the drag on the line and yelled out to his uncle who didn’t quite believe him at first.

“It’s not true,” Remi yelled to his nephew. It was only when he saw the line bend himself that reality started sinking in.

Mathieu was struggling to keep the fish reeled in and eventually had to pass the line over to his uncle to take a break.

They took turns after that, switching off every 20 minutes or so, as the fish kept pulling and fighting.

Knowing they had a big fish on their hands, Mathieu decided to start hacking away at the ice to make the fishing hole bigger.

For safety reasons, fishing holes are kept at around eight inches, he explained. “So I made a four-foot-wide hole.”

By all accounts, it took about four hours before they were able to haul their catch onto the ice.

“We were sore everywhere,” Remi said.

“We were really, really, really tired,” added Mathieu, who couldn’t quite fathom how they’d be able to make the trip back to shore lugging a fish weighing more than 100 pounds.

Luckily for them, a man with an ATV happened to be in the vicinity and was able to ferry them back to their vehicle.

Meanwhile, the group called the Musée du Fjord to report their catch and let them know they’d be dropping by.

The museum is one of the partners involved in the fish study and is responsible for harvesting the needed organs.

By the time Mathieu and company arrived at the museum, news of the catch had spread.

“It was unbelievable, like 50 to 60 people were there,” an incredulous Mathieu said. “Everybody was really enjoying the moment.”

After the official weighing-in, the photos and the lab, Mathieu was able to take the remainder of the fish home.

He said he didn’t name his fish, but gave it the respect it was due.

His cousin, who is a chef, cooked up a meal for the whole family and the leftover meat was put sous-vide to be delivered to those in need.

“Me and my uncle, we decided to give back, we want to share with people who maybe don’t get to enjoy some good fish,” Mathieu said.

While the halibut fishing season is only kicking off, Mathieu and Rémi might find Sunday’s experience hard to top.

Mathieu said he’s happy to have been able to share such a moment with his uncle, who not only taught him to fish when he was little but also served as a role model for him growing up.

“He passed on not only his passion but more importantly his values,” Mathieu wrote in French on Facebook.

He went on to thank his uncle for being a source of comfort over the years and for making him the person he is today.

Saguenay, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - February 20, 2024) - First Phosphate Corp. (CSE: PHOS) (OTC: FRSPF) (FSE: KD0) ("First Phosphate" or the "Company") is pleased to update the market on its plans for a purified phosphoric acid ("PPA") plant at the Port of Saguenay and the development of the North American lithium iron phosphate ("LFP") battery valley in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Region of Quebec.

On November 21, 2022, First Phosphate CEO, John Passalacqua, addressed the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Region of Quebec ("FCC-SLSJ") and shared, with local business leaders and politicians, the vision for the creation of an LFP battery ecosystem in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Region of Quebec. Mr. Passalacqua provided a further update to the FCC-SLSJ on February 8, 2024. A recording of the February 8 session is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnarUchmXdg.

Building a PPA plant and an LFP battery ecosystem for North America is a major undertaking. Since first laying out the Company's vision in 2022, First Phosphate has taken the following progressive steps towards realizing its PPA plant at Port Saguenay and in establishing the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec as the LFP battery valley of North America.

Engineering and Feasibility Study

The Company has completed its internal pre-feasibility study for its PPA plant at Port Saguenay, Quebec and is in the process of evaluating engineering firms to begin a potential formal feasibility study. All PPA production will be fully internalized and limited to the development of LFP cathode active material ("CAM") by the Company and its strategic partners so as not to disrupt existing fragile equilibria in the food phosphates and fertilizer industries.

The Company has created a full proprietary financial model for the future PPA facility and is amenable to sharing details of its pre-feasibility work with those who have the ability to add synergies to its existing network of strategic partners.

Industrial Land, Infrastructure & Port Access

The Company signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with Port Saguenay Authority to secure industrial lands and deep-sea shipping access for the establishment a PPA plant: https://firstphosphate.com/PortSaguenay

Sulfuric Acid Supply

The Company signed an MOU with with NorFalco Sales ("NorFalco"), a division of Glencore Canada Corporation to secure supply of sulfuric acid (a key component in the production of PPA) for its future industrial facilities in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec: https://firstphosphate.com/norfalco

Anglers with a special arrangement to go ice fishing Sunday on the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec caught a 109-pound Atlantic halibut that took them four hours to land.

Remi and Mathieu Aubin needed help from two other fishermen as the hole needed widening to land the behemoth fish, the first of the season caught under the Atlantic Halibut Winter Fishing Project for Scientific Purposes.

The fishermen were allowed to ice fish in the fjord under the program whereby the fishermen agree to submit their catches to scientists for recording biological data from the fish, as previously reported by For The Win Outdoors.

Recreational fishing for the species is otherwise prohibited, as Atlantic halibut are protected as an endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature, according to OutdoorLife.

The fishery in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec is “where a large freshwater river, the Riviére Saguenay, meets the St. Lawrence River as it forms a narrow, deep inlet in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” OutdoorLife stated. “This creates a unique fishery where the fresh water from the river flows over the salty water of the gulf and freezes solid. (Seawater freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater, and it has to be colder for longer since bays are typically deeper than lakes.)”

Twenty-four hours after the catch, Mathieu Aubin wrote on Facebook that he was “still speechless.”

He wrote that he was donating the meat portion of the catch to 16 people in need.

More from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada:

The winter Atlantic halibut project for scientific purposes in the Saguenay Fjord, which began in the winters 2022 and 2023, will continue in 2024.

This project, initiated by the Comité de bassin de la baie des Ha! Ha! (CBBH), aims to acquire additional scientific knowledge on this species and its presence in the Saguenay Fjord.

DFO will issue a scientific fishing licence to the Comité de bassin de la baie des Ha! Ha!, which will be responsible for coordinating scientific fishing activities, including identifying participants who will be permitted to participate in scientific fishing activities under this licence.

The total allowable catch for all participants named in the license remains 100 specimens for the season. In addition, the minimum size of halibut that may be retained will be 85 cm and over. Participants will be required to return any Atlantic halibut less than 85 cm in length immediately to the water from which it was taken and in a manner that causes the least harm to the halibut if it is still alive.