Altantic salmon from outside the Bay of Fundy travel to Greenland to feed and bulk up for 2-3 years in their juvenile stage before returning to their home rivers as adults to spawn. Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon need only to travel to the gulf of Maine to feed as the bay’s tides wash in so many nutrients. However, for unknown reasons, iBoF salmon are not returning to the rivers after feeding
in the bay, and this is where our recovery story begins. For countless generations, salmon were an integral part of the culture and sustenance of Fundy communities. Unfortunately, by the early 1960’s, the relationship between salmon and local people had begun to fracture. Poor land use practices, overfishing, and the construction of river barriers had damaged the access to vital salmon habitat throughout the region. This meant fewer habitats for Atlantic salmon growing in the Bay of Fundy. By the early 1990’s, the numbers of inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) salmon had significantly declined. As a result Inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) Atlantic salmon were added to the endangered species list in 2001 after their population had depleted to around 200 fish. At this point Parks Canada teamed up with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to rear and release wild Atlantic salmon back into FNP rivers at different life stages in order to research the impacts of captivity on salmon development. The research showed the most successful salmon were released into the wild were fry, young salmon learning to feed and developing nature instincts. The problems arose for the young salmon, as they discovered, not in the rivers but in the Bay. Once released as fry the salmon grew in the rivers for two years until they reached the smolt stage, teenage salmon. At this point the salmon travel downstream toward the ocean to start their year of feeding. Scientists realized that salmon survival was dependant on releasing wild salmon as fry into the rivers to gain natural instincts then collecting them as smolt to nurture them through the sea bearing years. The smolt wheel catches about 10 per cent of the smolts travelling downstream during the spring. The barrel spins using soft screw-like blades on the inside which direct the salmon towards the back of the wheel into a holding tank. Every morning these smolt are collected and carefully tagged by our biology team. These tags act to differentiate our wild project salmon from other salmon. The tagged smolts are held in Huston Brook for a short time until they are ready to be taken to the World’s First Wild Salmon Marine Conservation Farm in Dark Harbour, Grand Manan. With support from the Village of Grand Manan, Cooke Aquaculture and the Atlantic Canadian Fish farmer Association (ACFFA) this conservation farm site is dedicated and staffed solely to support this project. On this site wild salmon reared for release into Fundy National Park rivers and for the Petitcodiac watershed, where Fort Folly operate a sister project. Smolts are raised there for 16 to 18 months before being returned and released by Coast guard helicopter to the rivers as adults to spawn. Every year hundreds of salmon are being released into Fundy National Park and the Petitcodiac water shed. Once the salmon are in the rivers, researchers from UNB track their movements and study their spawning locations as well as river health. This recovery model is only possible with the coming together of academia, private industry, first nations and governmental organizations. Together, Parks Canada, Fort Folly First Nation –Habitat Recovery, UNB, Cooke Aquaculture, the province of New Brunswick, and ACFFA for Fundy Salmon Recovery. Our goal is to increase the Wild Atlantic salmon populations in the Bay of Fundy. Fundy’s Salmon Recovery has made possible programs and services allow more Canadians, including youth and newcomers, to experience the outdoors and learn about our environment and history. Parks Canada offers the Swim with Salmon program that gives guests an exclusive experience view salmon in the Upper Salmon River. The snorkeling expeditions take place on Saturdays in September and spots are filling up quickly. Registration is available online or feel free to ask me for more information.
