I wish Canada didn’t burn fossil fuels for power but as an Albertan I can promise you that we do.

I don’t think this is a scale, it looks an awful lot like an otolith, which is a calcium carbonate buildup from inside a fishes head. These are often used by biologists to age a fish similar to counting rings on a tree.

I still don’t know what species would have one shaped like that but it may help you to look in better places to identify it.