Research Document - 2015/049

Assessment of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Salmon Fishing Area 16 of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to 2013

By S.G. Douglas, G. Chaput, J. Hayward, and J. Sheasgreen

Abstract

Of the 39 Atlantic salmon rivers in Salmon Fishing Area (SFA) 16, the Miramichi River is the largest and accounts for over 90% of the juvenile rearing habitat in SFA 16. Annual returns of adult salmon to the Miramichi River were monitored at estuarial trapnets and their abundance estimated with a mark and recapture experiment. The proportion of the conservation requirement attained was determined after accounting for the number of large (≥63 cm) and small (<63 cm) salmon harvested and lost from aboriginal and recreational fisheries. In 2013, returns of Atlantic salmon to the Miramichi River were estimated at 13,260 large salmon and 11,750 small salmon. The small salmon and large salmon returns in 2013 were among the lowest return estimates since 1970. Returns of large salmon and small salmon to the Southwest Miramichi River in 2013 were 10,780 (5th and 95th percentiles 6,804-18,250) and 7,537 (5,049-12,100) and insufficient to meet the egg conservation requirement before fisheries (83%) and after accounting for removals from fisheries (80%). Similarly for the Northwest Miramichi River, the returns of large salmon and small salmon were 2,342 (1,613-3,566) and 4,094 (3,241-5,546) and insufficient to meet the egg conservation requirement before (48%) and after removals from fisheries (39%). Catches and counts of large salmon at provincial barriers and crown reserve angling stretches in 2013 were improved over 2012 and above the previous 5-year averages. Small salmon catches and counts at provincial facilities in 2013 were also improved over 2012 levels but less than the previous 5-year means. The biological characteristics of adult salmon sampled at DFO index trapnets in the Miramichi River were updated for 2013. Juvenile salmon were sampled throughout the Miramichi watershed in 2012 and have remained at consistent levels since 1984 when significant changes in the management of the commercial and recreational salmon fisheries occurred. Reliable catch and harvest information from the recreational and aboriginal fisheries remain a significant constraint to the assessment of Atlantic salmon in SFA 16 and precludes any rigorous evaluation of current or potentially new management scenarios for these stocks.

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