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Special Places: Eco-lessons from the National Parks in Atlantic CanadaInformation Sheet: Atlantic SalmonIntroductionAtlantic salmon are found in five of the seven national parks in Atlantic Canada. They are not found in Prince Edward Island National Park, nor are they found at Kejimkujik as a result of the construction, in the 1940s, of a hydroelectric dam—on a system of rivers that drained this park—which blocked salmon access. Parks Canada is concerned about the salmon population in Fundy, where they have all but disappeared from two historically excellent salmon streams.
The Atlantic salmon is born in fresh water and remains there until it undergoes a physiological transformation allowing it to tolerate salt water. After one to three years at sea, the salmon returns to its river of origin to spawn (reproduce). It therefore has two distinct habitats, freshwater rivers and ocean. The soils and vegetation along the streams and rivers play an important role in protecting and maintaining salmon habitat. The vegetation both nourishes the river ecosystem and protects it by stabilizing the riverbanks, preventing them from collapsing and silting the river. A good spawning site will have coarse, loose gravel 3-7 centimetres thick, a moderately strong current to prevent the eggs from being smothered by settling silt, and welloxygenated water. Salmon spawn any time between mid October to mid or late November. Each female can produce between 1500 and 1800 eggs per kilogram of her weight. Once the female has located a site, she prepares a redd, or nest. The alevins (hatchlings or fry) and parr (yolk sac gone, actively feeding and free swimming) will stay in the freshwater system for usually two to three years before reaching the smolt stage, when they become silver and head to the sea and salt water. Those that do return to the freshwater system to spawn are called grilse, while others that remain in salt water to overwinter another season will return to fresh water to spawn as adult salmon (greater than 63 cm).
The salmon undergoes physiological changes as it travels. Before it enters fresh water, its digestive system shuts down. It may go without food for 12 months. Salmon tend to eat capelin, herring, sand lances, crustaceans and squid, and are prey for skate, halibut, sharks, tuna, swordfish, cod and seals. Reasons for Species Loss
Efforts to Conserve Atlantic SalmonSalmon management techniques include establishing and enforcing regulations, conducting studies of salmon stocks, determining quotas (recreational and commercial), opening and closing rivers depending upon size and timing of salmon migration, evaluating, protecting and enhancing habitat, and restocking watersheds. All of the national parks with salmon have salmon management plans, which direct the monitoring of reproduction and returning adult runs as well as the control of sportfishing. According to one Parks Canada representative, the concern is about what happens to salmon that were born in parks once they leave to go to sea for one to three years. The national parks have no control over what happens to these salmon, in terms of harvesting, pollution, poaching, etc. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is the primary organization responsible for salmon management. DFO sets quotas for recreational and commercial fisheries, opens and closes rivers, sets bag limits and issues licences for the commercial fishery. The Department of Tourism and Culture issues licences and tags for recreational fishing. The provincial Department of Fisheries also does some licensing as well as regulation of processing facilities and salmon buyers, and is responsible for issuing aquaculture licences. In an effort to maintain and improve the quality and productivity of salmon habitat, DFO has established a policy for the Management of Fish Habitat, which is to be implemented throughout Canada. According to this policy, fish habitats are assets that must be preserved in order to increase their “natural productive capacity...for the nation’s fisheries resources, to benefit present and future generations of Canadians.” DFO plans to achieve this by preventing the loss of existing habitat, rehabilitating fish habitat that has already been lost, and creating habitat wherever possible. DFO recognizes that fish habitat will inevitably be destroyed by other projects such as hydroelectric development. Under the “No Net Loss” principle, when a loss of fish habitat occurs, the loss will have to be minimized and balanced by the development of new habitat of equally productive potential. There have been local organizations that have assisted with enhancement/conservation projects, including the Environmental Resources Management Association and the Salmon Association of Eastern Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Atlantic Canada in which commercial salmon fishing is allowed. Commercial fishing is not permitted in rivers or estuaries due to pressures on salmon stocks and is restricted to those who are issued a commercial salmon fishing licence by DFO. As is the case in the rest of Atlantic Canada, the province is divided into Salmon Angling Zones (SAZ). Of the two SAZ in Labrador, the only one that can be can be fished commercially is the northern zone. This is in fact the only SAZ in the province in which commercial salmon fishing is permitted. Each SAZ has its own quota. Once the quota has been met, fishing must cease. DFO decides which rivers can have a recreational fishery and designates them as “scheduled rivers”. The fishing season runs from around late June to early September. Anglers must purchase a salmon angling licence, which is issued by the provincial government. The licence is accompanied by self-locking tags, which must immediately be attached to the salmon after it is caught. Once all of the anglers’ tags are used up, they must stop fishing. A three-year (1999-2001) Salmon Management Plan was developed in consultation with user groups and stakeholders. This plan, which is based on an adaptive management strategy, sets quotas based on the ability of the river to sustain angling activities, including catch and release. In order to manage stocks effectively, fisheries managers need to know how many fish exist by doing stock assessments. Scientists rely on “counts” that are done at fishways and counting fences established in selected rivers throughout the province as well as records of actual catches for both commercial and recreational fisheries. Fishways can be a good tool for counting fish. As the salmon ascends the fishway, they are detained, counted, measured and sometimes tagged. Counting fences are special barriers placed in rivers to count salmon. They are funnelled into a trap where they are counted by an observer at regular intervals and then released. Finally, on a micro-level, there are 22 “native guardians” in Newfoundland and Labrador. They help monitor rivers and catches and have enforcement authority under the Fisheries Act so that when loss of fish habitat occurs, the loss will have to be minimized and balanced by the development of new habitat of equally productive potential.
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