With 48 primarily freshwater fish species inhabiting one of the largest rivers in North America, thousands of lakes and a large coastal area (including the Arctic islands), there is no shortage of fishing opportunities in the Northwest Territories. As well as whitefish (both broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) and lake whitefish (C. clupeaformis)) fisheries, commercial fisheries in the Northwest Territories harvest walleye (pickerel) (Stizostedion vitreum), inconnu (coney) (Stenodus leucichthys), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), northern pike (jackfish) (Esox lucius) and burbot (loche) (Lota lota).

While most of these fish stocks remain healthy due to a vast area with a low human population, some stocks have been overexploited due to localized fishing pressure. Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), a species that many people associate with the north, have been over-harvested in the past and are the subject of community based management plans in some areas. These plans use traditional and scientific knowledge and balance the needs of the community with the ability of the stock to sustain harvesting. Integrated Fisheries Management Plans that involve input from all user groups are being developed for stocks that are subject to fishing pressure from multiple users and at multiple locations.