Science Response 2009/007

Status of Atlantic Salmon in Salmon Fishing
Areas (SFAs) 19-21 and 23

Context

Atlantic salmon populations of the Maritimes Region have experienced two or more decades of decline. Atlantic salmon commercial fisheries were closed by 1985. In-river closures of recreational fisheries began in 1990 in the inner Bay of Fundy and expanded to all outer Bay (SFA 23) and many eastern and southern shore rivers (SFAs 20 and 21) by 1998. In addition, Aboriginal communities have either reduced or curtailed their fishing activity. Many populations are extirpated, and inner Bay of Fundy salmon (SFA 22 and a portion of 23) are listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act. As part of a broader assessment of Atlantic salmon in Canada, the status of the outer Bay of Fundy (western part of SFA 23), Nova Scotia Southern Upland (SFAs 20 and 21) and eastern Cape Breton populations (SFA 19) is being reviewed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). In support of COSEWIC’s assessment, DFO held a meeting from Feb. 9 to Feb. 13, 2009 to review their information about all Atlantic salmon populations in Canada. Information pertaining to the status of populations in SFAs 19-21 and 23 was presented in three research documents which were reviewed at the meeting; the results of which are summarized here. Previous to this document, the most recent assessment report for Atlantic salmon in SFAs 19-21 and 23 updated their status to 2008 (DFO 2008).

Science advice on the status of salmon in SFAs 19-21 and 23 was requested by Fisheries and Aquaculture Management (FAM) on 4 April 2009. This advice is required in advance of the 2009 advisory committee meetings. These are the formal consultative forums at which DFO solicits input from stakeholders prior to developing the 2009 recreational salmon fishing plan. Given constraints in timing as well as the review of status at the aforementioned meeting, it was decided to provide this status report through the Science Special Response Process. A meeting was held by DFO Maritimes Science (April 16, 2009) to review the information in this document. This Science Response report is a product of that meeting.

Evaluation of the status of Atlantic salmon in the Maritime Provinces is based on a comparison of the abundance of salmon relative to a reference point known as the conservation spawner requirement (CSR). The CSR is generally a river-specific estimate of the number of salmon required to produce an egg deposition of 2.4 eggs/m² of fluvial habitat. The CSR was originally adopted by the Canadian Atlantic Fisheries Scientific Advisory Committee (CAFSAC) as the level below which CAFSAC would strongly advise that no fishing should occur. CAFSAC considered that this level provided a modest margin of safety but that the possibility of irreversible damage to the stock increased the further spawning escapement was, and the longer it remained, below the CSR, even at levels only slightly below (CAFSAC 1991).

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