Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announces Canada’s actions at home and on the world stage to help bring back wild Atlantic salmon on Canada’s east coast.

On the domestic front, the Minister released today the Forward Plan for Atlantic Salmon to advance the 61 recommendations contained within the Special Report on Wild Atlantic Salmon in Eastern Canada submitted by the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Atlantic Salmon in July 2015.

Key highlights of the plan include reviewing the Wild Atlantic Salmon Conservation Policy and improving the coordination of science and research related to wild Atlantic salmon through an Atlantic Salmon Research Joint Venture.

With new science funding announced in Budget 2016, the Department will also engage with partners to better understand Atlantic salmon survival at sea and increase in-river monitoring of salmon returns in selected rivers.

The $197.1 million investment in ocean and freshwater science announced in Budget 2016 will allow for the hiring of scientists and other initiatives and partnerships that will promote the long term recovery of the Atlantic salmon stock.

On the international front, Canada recently participated in the 2016 North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) annual meeting in Germany on June 7 – 10, 2016. 

Canada’s key positions included:

• Encouraging Greenland to implement its new management measures to improve control and reporting of harvest levels of Atlantic salmon;
• Encouraging Saint Pierre and Miquelon to join NASCO and reduce its harvest levels of  Atlantic salmon; and
• Engaging with other NASCO members on best practices for managing aquaculture issues such as containment and sea lice controls.

The Canadian delegation was pleased that Greenland confirmed its intention to reduce its harvest levels for 2016 from 45 tonnes to 32 tonnes. Following a direct request from Canada, Greenland also signaled the possibility of not authorizing a commercial fishery for 2016. Greenland authorizes both a subsistence and a commercial fishery. Canada continues to call on Greenland to reduce its removal of Wild Atlantic salmon to levels that support salmon conservation.

Atlantic salmon leaping in northern Newfoundland (photo Tom Moffatt/ASF)

The Nova Scotia Salmon Association has been pleading for help on this issue for some time now.

Here's the Association's president, Rene Aucoin in their newsletter this spring:

The 2015 salmon season began with a lot of uncertainty. The previous season, had been nothing short of disastrous on many of our fabled rivers. In NS, the Margaree was one of the few rivers that met the conservation requirement. Following the recommendations of a newly created Ministerial Advisory Committee, live release and barbless hooks became mandatory in the Maritimes while Québec instituted stringent regulations regarding Salmo salar. On the international front, renewed and more urgent negotiations with Greenland resulted in some measures of control on both the native and commercial fisheries. Though the 2015 returns were better than anticipated, the overall decline of Atlantic salmon populations is still worrisome, but during this last year, serious management steps were taken on behalf of salmon. 

Here's the association's newsletter.