Zec de la Rivière-Petit-Saguenay is a "

zone d'exploitation contrôlée A ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (in French; acronym ZEC) is a "Controlled harvesting zone" located in public lands areas of Quebec, in Canada. ZECs are a system of territorial infrastructures set up in 1978 by the Government of Quebec to take ...

" (controlled harvesting zone) (zec) located in the municipality of Petit-Saguenay, in

Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality Le Fjord-du-Saguenay (''The Fjord of the Saguenay iver') is a regional county municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is Saint-Honoré, which is also its most populous municipality. It is named for the f ...

, in administrative region of

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and th ...

, in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Established in 1998, this zec is administered by "Association de la rivière Petit-Saguenay" which is a nonprofit organization. This Association obtained the Regional Win in the category "Outdoor activities and leisure" at the "Grands Prix du Tourisme Québécois 2010". Since 2014, a Charter for the Protection of Atlantic salmon certify fishermen, traders, artisans and citizens ready to commit to a sports manager and guarantor of the future.

Geography

Several bodies of water in the

Laurentides Wildlife Reserve Réserve faunique des Laurentides (), also known by its former name of parc des Laurentides, is a wildlife reserve in Quebec, Canada, located between Quebec City and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. This reserve is part of the network of ...

form the head of the

Petit Saguenay River The Petit Saguenay River is a watercourse flowing in Quebec, Canada, in: * the unorganized territory of Sagard, Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality, in administrative region of Capitale-Nationale; * the municipality of Petit-Saguenay, in t ...

at around 625 meters above sea level. With a length of , the Petit Saguenay River covers a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of and average river flow is . It flows between high and majestic mountains eastward to

Sagard Sagard is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. History Sagard is first mentioned in 1250 as ''Zagard''. The name of the municipality of Sagard comes from the Slavic and means something like '' ...

. Then the river heads north through the village of Petit-Saguenay, and at further reaches its mouth. Between

and Petit-Saguenay, the route 170 run along the river. The mouth of the river is located at the bottom of the cove Petit-Saguenay (partially closed by a jetty), in the municipality of Petit-Saguenay where the waters flow into Le Fjord-du-Saguenay. The handle is located at (measured by water) upstream of the mouth of the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

. The main tributary of the Petit Saguenay River is Portage River (Petit-Saguenay) which flows eastward; the mouth of the latter is south of the mouth of the Petit Saguenay River.

Fishing

The Atlantic salmon abound in the Petit Saguenay River. The annual salmon run to spawning is favored by a riverbed formed shingle with stones, gravel and sand. Minerals suspended water tinted a light brown. The average flow of the river current is . The river has of river where 24 water pits are arranged and easily accessible; fishing area also includes a kilometer on the Portage River (Petit-Saguenay). The pits are divided into four areas of which three are subject to fishing quotas. In Area 1, the unrestricted encompasses pits 3-23, except the pit 19. The latter belongs to the sector 3 which is subject to quota. In addition, the pit 19 is the Portage River (Petit-Saguenay), dependent on the Petit-Saguenay River. Area 2 includes the pit 24 and sector 4 includes pits 1 and 2 generally pits are easily spot because it is well identified. These pits in the river are less than 30 meters from the road. Anglers can easily access via a footpath to the pits # 9 (Cascade) to # 23 (landing), except the pit # 19. Anglers can fish for sea trout (fly or light tackle) in the Saguenay Fjord (at the mouth of the river). Sea trout is an anadromous brook trout, immigrant fjord (salt water) to its native river (fresh water) to reproduce. Apart from the

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 ...

, six other species abound in the Petit-Saguenay River: the

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 ...

(also called "speckled trout" or "sea trout"), the

longnose dace The longnose dace (''Rhinichthys cataractae'') is a freshwater minnow native to North America. ''Rhinicthys'' means snout fish (reference to the long snout) and ''cataractae'' means of the cataract (first taken from Niagara Falls). Longnose dace ...

, the

fallfish The fallfish (''Semotilus corporalis'') is a North American freshwater fish, a chub in the family Cyprinidae. The fallfish is the largest minnow species native to Eastern North America. Description Average specimens generally measure about in ...

, the

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 ...

, the suckers and l' épinoche.

Attractions

The "Association de la Rivière Petit-Saguenay" (Association of Petit-Saguenay River) provides opportunities for canoe down on a segment of , in the area of "eaux mortes" (dead water) on Petit-Saguenay River. This river segment has a wild and great length by meandering shaped stones pushed by the current. An easy linear trail along the Petit-Saguenay River, allows nature lovers to observe the landscape and Atlantic salmon at the observatory of the "fosse Poussière" (dust pit) (#16) and cross a river on a suspended bridge or chat with the salmon fishermen. At the observatory of the pit #24, visitors can see the salmon in full action, performing quantum leaps while attempting to ascend the falls, showing their fighting spirit. Periods favorable for salmon runs are in July. "The site of the cottages of the Petit-Saguenay River", located near the reception office of the Zec, has five chalets heritage character in vintage buildings well preserved. The Association also offers accommodation in two other cottages. It also offers 25 camping sites at the Petit-Saguenay River. The zec was winner in the "Camping in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean" category at the "Grands Prix du Tourisme Québécois 2001". This camp is in harmony with nature. The "Association de la Rivière Petit-Saguenay" proposes to rent a yurt along the river in summer and winter, near the reception office. The yurt is a traditional dwelling of the nomads living in the steppes of Central Asia. The yurt combines charm and rusticity.

Toponymy

The name of the zec is directly related to the toponyms of Petit Saguenay River, the municipality Petit-Saguenay and the cove "Anse Petit-Saguenay". The toponym of "Zec de la Rivière-Petit-Saguenay" was officialized on April 30, 1999 at the Bank of place names of the

Commission de toponymie du Québec The Commission de toponymie du Québec (English: ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicize Québec's place names and their origins according ...

(Geographical Names Board of Quebec).Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Quebec)- Bank of places names - Toponym: "Zec de la Rivière-Petit-Saguenay"
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Notes and references

External links