Atlantic Salmon Research Joint Venture – Modelling Water Temperature in a Changing Climate and The Response of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon Populations Across Eastern Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is providing $202,541 in funding through the Partnership Fund to the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), the research branch of the Université du Québec, for this project on water temperature and the geographical distribution of Atlantic salmon.

Using a computer model, researchers will forecast when river temperatures are a risk to juvenile Atlantic salmon populations, for use as a tool managing this important resource. Warmer rivers pose a challenge for Atlantic salmon managers, who sometimes need to close a fishery when temperatures exceed certain thresholds. The decision-making process leading to the suspension of angling, which is important economically in Eastern Canada, must be based on sound scientific methods that minimize the risk of error. They will also do a broad review of the existing literature in order to decipher the most important research questions to be pursued by the joint venture.

The Atlantic Salmon Research Joint Venture, formed in 2016, is integrating salmon research by joint venture partners including universities, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations, the United States NOAA Fisheries Services, non-governmental organizations, and provincial governments. The long term objective of joint venture research is to determine the future of Atlantic salmon populations of Eastern North America in the context of climatic change.

Project number GULF2016.21
Year(s): 2017
Partner: Institut national de la recherché scientifique (INRS), Université du Québec, Atlantic Salmon Research Joint Venture
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Normand Bergeron, Dr. André St-Hilaire
Eco-region: Atlantic