The Zec des Rivières-Godbout-et-Mistassini (known until 1996 "Zec de la rivière-Godbout") 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)) in the municipalities of Franquelin and

Godbout Godbout is a village municipality in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Godbout River on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Godbout is accessible via Quebec Route 138 and by ferry from Matane. E ...

, in

Manicouagan Regional County Municipality Manicouagan is a regional county municipality in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River with its seat in Baie-Comeau. It was created in 1981, and named after the Manicouagan River. Su ...

(RCM), in the administrative region of

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 ...

, 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 ...

. Zec administers the lower segments of the Godbout River and Mistassini River (Franquelin) which are used for recreative

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

fishing.

Geography

''Godbout River'' The Godbout River flows from north to south, in the municipality of Franquelin, then

. It flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of the town of

and the Bay of Godbout. After crossing the route138, the river still flows 3.2 km to the southeast to its mouth along a sandbar separating the Bay of Molson, located on the west side. Downstream of the route138, there are four small islands on the river, of which Gilmour Island and Laws Island. Godbout River has 29 salmon water pits. The first pit is located on the island Gilmour. ''Rivière Mistassini (Franquelin)'' Lake Mistassini is the main headwater lake of the Mistassini River (Franquelin). Its mouth located southeast of the lake empties into a landfill to reach the lake Bourdon. The waters of the river descends through the Barron and Montreuil lakes. Then the river crosses under the bridge of the railway and the route 138, then goes along the coast of Gulf of St. Lawrence. Just south of the route 138, the river receives water from the outlet of Lake Nord-Ouest. Then, the river empties into a bay on the north shore of Gulf of St. Lawrence, near the "Baie à Guy" (Bayof Guy). The course of the river is mostly focused towards the southeast. ''Jurisdiction of Zec'' The jurisdiction of the ZEC begins at the mouth of the Godbout River (the "Bout du Banc" (End of the Bench)) and covers the route of the river upstream to the first northwest (about 5.9 km), then north up to Lake cypress. Godbout River traverses 30.7 kilometers on the Réserve de biodiversité projetée de la Vallée de la rivière Godbout (Projected biodiversity reserve of the Valley of Godbout river).

History

A fur trading post was operated on Godbout River for more than two centuries. In history, this river has been granted to various operators including Hudson's Bay. Finally, in 1873, the territory was acquired by Messrs Madge Fraser, JH Molson and F. Stuart Molson. Born in 1848, Napoleon Alexandre Comeau has served as a guide and caretaker at the age of 11 years, from 1859 until the end of his life. For this work of life, he is a legendary figure in the

(North Shore). He was a naturalist, a fisherman, a hunter, trapper and a renowned physician. His extensive knowledge of salmon is recognized in several publications including "Forest and Stream" for which he wrote regular columns. In 1945 the Garneau Editions publish "Life and sport on the North Shore", a bible for adventurers and nature lovers.

Toponymy

The following names are all bound by the same origin and are located in the same area on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence: "Zec des Rivières-Godbout-et-Mistassini", Small Godbout river Godbout River, Godbout East River, the lake Godbout and Réserve de biodiversité projetée de la Vallée de la rivière Godbout (Projected Biodiversity Reserve of the Valley of Godbout river). The name "Zec des Rivières-Godbout-et-Mistassini" was formalized on January 29, 1996, at the Bank of place names in the Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Quebec)Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Quebec) - Bank of place names - Toponym: Zec des Rivières-Godbout-et-Mistassini
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Geography

History

Toponymy

See also

Related articles

Notes et references

External links