The Saint-Paul River (french: Rivière Saint-Paul) is a salmon river in the
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...
region of Quebec, Canada. It empties into the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Location
The river rises on the height of land between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence.
The main channel is about , of which about is in Labrador.
The river has a
Strahler number
In mathematics, the Strahler number or Horton–Strahler number of a mathematical tree is a numerical measure of its branching complexity.
These numbers were first developed in hydrology by and ; in this application, they are referred to as the ...
of 7.
It flows in a southerly direction, and empties into Esquimaux Bay in the Vieux Fort archipelago, about west of the municipality of
Blanc-Sablon
Blanc-Sablon is the easternmost community in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative région of Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 1,122 inhabitants in 2021, it is the most p ...
.
The last fifteen kilometers of its course define the boundary between the cantons of Chevalier and Bonne-Esperance.
The mouth of the river is in the municipality of
Bonne-Espérance in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality.
The village of Rivière-Saint-Paul is located on the west side of its mouth.
Name
The
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
who once lived at the river mouth called the river the ''Quitzezaqui River", meaning "Great River".
The
Naskapi call it ''Aisimeu Shipu'', meaning "Eskimo River", while the Innu use ''Aiahtshimeu Hipu'', also meaning "Eskimo River".
Louis Jolliet arrived at the river on 7 July 1694, and called it Rivière des Esquimaux.
It was also called Grande Rivière.
In March 1706 Jean-Amador Godefroy de Saint-Paul (1649-1730) was granted a trading concession at the river mouth, which was renamed the Rivière Saint-Paul.
Basin
The river basin covers .
It lies between the basins of the
Napetipi River
The Napetipi River (french: Rivière Napetipi) is a salmon river in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It empties into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Location
The Napetipi River is long, of which about or 10.7% is in Labrador.
The river's S ...
to the west and the
Belles Amours River to the east.
About 69.5% of the basin is in Labrador, north of the provincial boundary.
The Quebec portion is partly in the unorganized territory of
Petit-Mécatina and partly in the municipality of Bonne-Espérance.
The river basin include part of the proposed Basses Collines du Lac Guernesé Biodiversity Reserve.
A map of the
ecological regions of Quebec shows the river in sub-regions 6o-T, 6n-T and 6m-S of the east spruce/moss subdomain.
Basque presence
Between July and August 2019 a team of underwater archaeologists discovered and examined four fishing sites on the Saint-Paul River that dated to the 16th century.
The camps were full of objects such as cauldrons, ceramics, roofing tiles and ships nails that the
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
probably bought from
Basques
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...
.
This showed that the Inuit were settled rather than nomadic, and also that the Basques had closer ties with the local people than had been thought.
The objects were found in the river and on the shore.
Fishing
The river is recognized as an
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
(''Salmo salar'') river.
In 2018 harvesting of large salmon was allowed for only part of the year.
The fishing season lasts from mid-June to mid-August.
In 2013–2017 an average of 126 salmon were reported caught each year in the river.
The bed of the river is composed of medium-size rocks, and the water is cold and clear, making ideal habitat for Atlantic salmon.
Other species found at the river mouth include
American eel
The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The America ...
(''Anguilla rostrata''),
anadromous
Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
(''Salvelinus fontinalis'') and
rainbow smelt (''Osmerus mordax'').
The Club de pêche au saumon Saint-Paul (Saint-Paul Salmon Fishing Club) provides outfitting services.
The club has exclusive rights in an area about upstream with many islands and rapids.
They provides a cabin, canoe, and guided fly fishing and river fishing for Atlantic Salmon.
The camp is accessed via charter float plane or helicopter.
Pourvoirie Green Point also provides outfitter services, and has exclusive rights for of the river starting from from the river mouth and extending to Green Point Rapids.
The service includes air transport from Blanc-Sablon, guided fishing and accommodation in camps on the river.
The river exceeded its target for salmon management in 2018, and in July 2018 the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks announced that in August anglers could keep their catch of one large salmon or longer in the
Gros Mécatina,
Napetipi, Saint-Paul, Vieux Fort and
Matapedia rivers.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Paul River
Rivers of Côte-Nord