Arctic char, the most northern freshwater fish, has
been an important and healthy food resource to Inuit for centuries.
Char is eaten raw, frozen, dried, smoked, aged or cooked. The meat,
head and eggs are excellent sources of protein and Vitamin B. Dried
char contains omega-3 fatty acids which helps prevent heart disease.
There are two subgroups of arctic char: a sea-run group; and a freshwater
or land-locked group, both of which belong to the salmon family.
Arctic Char are distributed throughout the polar regions
and is the most northerly distributed of char and its closely related
cousin, the Dolly Varden. As the name suggest, Arctic Char is not
common to southern waters. They strive in rivers that have very
cold temperatures such as those in Labrador. However some rivers
on the island of Newfoundland also have large stocks of Arctic Char.