Fish found on ice

Hunters in Iqaluit have reported seeing a number of small cod fish lying dead on top of the sea ice on the other side of Frobisher Bay.

It’s not usual for fish to be on top of the sea ice, said Karen Ditz, a fisheries management biologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Iqaluit, but she guessed that a school of fish gathered near the ice edge could have been splashed onto the ice by an especially big seal or other marine mammal.

She also guessed that the small fish could have been capelin, and said she had heard of a raven spotted with a capelin in his mouth, which he may have retrieved from the ice.

DFO has not received any official reports or inquiries from hunters, but Ditz encouraged Iqalungmiut to come to DFO when they see something unusual.

A simple report, or a sample of a fish found in unusual circumstances, she said, can help DFO investigate strange events in the sea.