Arctic Fishing For Survival

On frozen arctic seas fish are likely to be the most accessible food. Even in summer it is safer to fish through the ice than to fish from the edge of a flow which may break up beneath you. The techniques involved are equally effective on any frozen lake or river where the ice is thick enough to bear your weight with ease but not so solid that it cannot be broken through.

First you need to gain access to the water, which means smashing a hole in the ice. If you have an ice saw, use that to cut neat holes which will still leave you with firm edges. If you have to smash the ice there is a risk that it may fracture back into the area where you are standing. Approach the operation carefully.

Hook and line

Bait the hook in the usual way. If the line is being carried back up against the underside of the ice you will have to weight it below the hook. There is no point in trying out your angling skills at only one hole - far better to set up multiple angling points.

In order to cover them effectively, however, you will need an easy way of knowing when you have a bite. Make a flag from a piece of cloth, paper or card- preferably of a bright color so that you will see it easily against the snow and ice- and attach it to a light stick. Lash this firmly at right angles to another stick which must extend beyond the maximum diameter of your hole by at least 30percent . Now attach the line to the lower end of the flagpole and rest the flag on the side of the hole with the line at its center.

When a fish takes your bait the crosspiece will be pulled over the hole and the flagpole jerked upright. Keep your eye on the markers so you can pull your catch up quickly. The wriggling fish makes an easy meal for a passing seal.

Plants

Antarctic: Lichens and mosses, growing on dark, heat- absorbing rocks on some northern coasts, are the only plants. Seas are rich in plankton and krill which support fishes, whales, seals, and many seabirds. Most birds migrate in autumn, but flightless penguins stay. They make good eating. Most of the year they take to the water at the first sign of danger but, when incubating eggs, sit tight on their burrows or scrapes.

Arctic: Ice provides no habitat for plants or found animals, even polar bear are likely only to hunt where they can find prey- and they are difficult and dangerous to hunt. Seabirds, fish and seals, where there is water, are the potential foods. Foxes-the arctic fox turns white in winter- sometimes follows polar bears on to sea ice to scavenge their kills. Northern wildlife is migratory and availability depends on season Tundra and forest: Plants and animals can be found in winter and summer and the northern forests offer even more wildlife. Tundra plant species are the same in Russia as in Alaska. All are small compared to warmer climate plants :ground spreading willow, birch and berry plants with high vitamin content. Lichens and mosses, found widely, form a valuable food source - especially reindeer moss.

POISONOUS PLANTS

The majority of arctic plants are edible, but

AVOID water hemlock - the most poisonous. AVOID the fruit of the baneberry.

AVOID small arctic buttercups.Other temperate poisonous species found far north include Lupin, Monkshood, Lurkspur, Vetch(locoweed), False hellebore and Death camas.

Best avoid fungi too - make sure you can distinguish lichens from them! There are no arctic plants which are known to produce contact poisoning.