Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow (CAST): Phase One (2016-2020)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is investing $1,400,902 in funding over four years via the Partnership Fund for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow (CAST), for research to assess factors in the decline of at-risk Atlantic salmon populations, with initial focus on the salmon of New Brunswick's Miramichi River. CAST Phase One has three components, led by Drs T. Linnansaari and A. Curry of the Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick (UNB) and Dr. L. Bernatchez, Université de Laval.

The Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar Project aims to develop an accurate method for assessing the size of fish runs that fisheries managers will be able to use to support, or in lieu of, current assessment methods. The Quantifying In-River Thermal Habitats Project involves capturing riverbed thermal imaging data for use with existing riverbed mapping data at UNB to build a detailed river habitat map. Using the data in computer models, researchers are learning about habitat responses to landscape and climate change, to predict impacts and provide forestry stakeholders with a planning tool that will help salmon rivers retain their coldwater characteristics while allowing cost-effective forestry operations.

The Smolt to Adult Supplementation Experiment DFO is providing funding for two parts of a four part study to capture outward migrating, wild Atlantic salmon smolts, raise them to adulthood, then return them to the river to spawn in the wild, thus by-passing the currently hypothesized, high at-sea mortality.

Project Number: Gulf2017.1
Year: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Partner: University of New Brunswick, Laval University, Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow (CAST)
Principal Investigators: Dr. T. Linnansaari, Dr. A. Curry, (UNB) Dr. L. Bernatchez, (Laval)
Eco-region: Atlantic