Ice-Fishing in Hamilton Harbour

Ice-Fishing in Hamilton Harbour. . , From the early 1800s to the 1920s, many of Hamilton's working families survived the harsh winter months by spearing fish through the ice-covered harbour., European settlers learned to spear fish from the Iroquois and Mississauga peoples. By the 1860s, ice-fishers needed a special $1 permit to join the large cluster of ice fishing huts in the northwestern end of the harbour, known as "Fish Town"., Despite its importance to working men, who relied on low-paying seasonal employment, there was much opposition to winter spearing. Members of exclusive conservation-minded sporting clubs believed that spear-fishing was not only unsportsmanlike, but that it was damaging the quality and depleting the number of game fish in Hamilton's waters. These sportsmen believed that angling was the only appropriate kind of fishing. From the 1860s to the 1890s, they repeatedly pressured the government to ban spear-fishing., The "pothunters" who fished to feed their families resisted these efforts to curb winter spearing. They argued that the fish belonged to the community. And, in the 1890s, over 4,000 Hamiltonians signed a petition in favour of spear-fishing that was forwarded to the federal fisheries minister. The ban on winter spearing was eventually lifted., By the late 1920s, a combination of overfishing and pollution had dealt a fatal blow to ice-fishing in the bay. Yet, Hamilton's fishers continued to advocate on behalf of the waters they loved, and they watch with pleasure as the harbour returns to its former glory.