Wild salmon conservation receives funding boost

The Government of Canada announced yesterday that Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be providing more funding to further understanding of Atlantic salmon and to help make decisions on potential recovery strategies.

“Atlantic salmon is an important cultural, recreational and economic species to Indigenous peoples, anglers and communities throughout the Atlantic provinces and Quebec,” said Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Dominic LeBlanc in a media release.

“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting new science that could help improve salmon populations, and we are proud to support Canada’s first collaborative forum for sharing research on this precious species,” he added.

Of the $600,000+ in funding, more than half will go towards targeted academic and Indigenous research projects. The remaining $300,000 will go towards the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s (ASF) monitoring program ($250k) and will support coordination activities of a new joint venture for Atlantics salmon research ($50k).

Tracking fish in real time

The ASF will use the funding to expand critical satellite and sonic tracking of salmon at sea, and boosts ASF's total science and research budget for 2016 to over $1 million.

The joint venture, managed by DFO, will ensure studies do not overlap, and will prioritize spending to answer the most pressing questions.

Since the mid-1990s, ASF has been tagging Atlantic salmon and recording their migration using sensors in rivers, estuaries, bays, and through the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the point it meets the Labrador Sea. Now they will add another array of sensors in the Labrador Sea to pick up fish further along their journey to Greenland. ASF will also begin tagging fish from a river in Labrador, adding to its research database.

"With the addition of more sensors, and another study river, we are moving towards completing a precise map of the entire migration route of Atlantic salmon," said ASF President Bill Taylor. "DFO deserves credit for the action they are taking on Atlantic salmon conservation."

ASF's tracking program is revealing data on predator-prey interactions, preferred depths and water temperatures, and the speed and timing of migration. This is fundamental knowledge that will improve the effectiveness of efforts to rebuild populations.

"ASF has earned an excellent international reputation for its science and research programs. This joint venture will coordinate the work of everyone and create more partnerships to ensure conservation decisions are backed up by the best knowledge," said Jonathan Carr, ASF's Executive Director of Research and Environment.

The Atlantic Salmon Research Joint Venture is Canada’s first collaborative forum for bringing Atlantic salmon science and conservation communities together. Made up of experts from government, Indigenous groups, provincial agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and other stakeholders, the venture will promote the sharing of scientific research with the goal of conserving and rebuilding the species.

“The Government of Canada is committed to improving Atlantic salmon stocks, but we can’t go about it alone. By collaborating with science and conservation experts, and supporting their research, we will all be more effective in encouraging their recovery,” said Serge Cormier, Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.