Research Document 2023/008

Information on the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Quebec for the Preparation of the Second Status Report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

By April, J., Bujold, V., Cauchon, V., Doucet-Caron, J., Gagnon, K., Guérard, M., Le Breton, S., Nadeau, V., Plourde-Lavoie, P. and Bujold, J.-N.

Abstract

This document presents an update of the information and analyses on the Atlantic Salmon in Quebec gathered since the first review conducted in 2010, and is intended to support the reassessment of the status of the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The information presented includes life history characteristics, habitat description, population abundance and threats to the species. A review of the data shows that the biological characteristics of the Atlantic Salmon and its freshwater habitats vary greatly among populations. Demographic trends also show high variability between populations. Although declines in salmon abundance were recorded in several rivers during the 1980s and 1990s, abundance levels have remained relatively stable over the past 20 years. In other rivers, abundance levels were fairly stable throughout the time series beginning in 1984. A few rivers remain in slow decline. However, no population appears to have become extinct, and the species’ range has remained largely unchanged over time. The pressure exerted by various types of fishing, which is relatively well controlled and documented, has continued to decrease. Several other threats whose impacts are less well understood have a combined effect on Atlantic Salmon populations.

Research Document 2023/008 (PDF, 8,047 KB)

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