Support for salmon strain
Six new habitat conservation projects will be funded by the RFCPP in order to support conservation of fish habitat in Canada’s maritime province, Prince Edward Island. Although not often thought of together, PEI has historically boasted over 70 rivers supporting Atlantic salmon populations. However, this number has dropped to around 22 over the last few decades, mostly due to habitat loss and increased sedimentation of spawning grounds.
The six groups receiving the funding — Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association, Souris and Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation, Winter River-Tracadie Bay Watershed Association, Morell River Management Cooperative, Central Queens Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation and the South Shore Watershed Association — are working on a variety of habitat projects, from fish passages to reducing water extraction. Since its inception in 2013, the RFCPP has invested more than $1.2 million into 30 community-based conservation projects involving hundreds of volunteers with the hopes of bringing back populations to historical levels. In fact, Northeast PEI is the only zone in the maritimes that is experiencing increasing numbers of Atlantic salmon, and is a testament of success to these local efforts of conservation.
One group in particular, the Souris and Area Branch, has a particularly important task. With the help of genomics, researchers at the University of Laval studying population structures of Canadian Atlantic salmon have shown that there may be a genetically distinct strain on the most eastern shores of PEI, in a region known as North Lake, known as “the bluefin capital of the world”, and home to over 80 lobster fleets. In fact, this population of Atlantic salmon may be the ancestral strain on PEI, which have evolved specifically to the local conditions, and which have not been influenced by importation of hatchery-raised fish. Earlier this year the local organization initiated a multi-year research project that aims to investigate the genetics and life history parameters for this unique population in partnership with the University of Prince Edward Island, PEI Fish and Wildlife staff, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Abeqweit First Nation Band, Mi'kmaq Confederacy, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
To date, the majority of information on Atlantic salmon management is sourced from large river populations but there is a pronounced lack of information on populations in smaller systems. As these populations likely have different adaptations and life-history traits, there are uncertainties surrounding how to manage them. Thus, this work is integral for facilitating management and conservation of local Atlantic salmon on PEI.
