Federal funding for Fundy Park will help salmon restoration project

MONCTON – The federal government announced $9.1 million in new funding for Fundy National Park on Thursday, including $2.6 million for an innovative monitoring and restoration program for the Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon.

The project is trying to restore a self-sustaining salmon population in the park and also give visitors the chance to see the salmon up close.

“This is an animal that has an obvious importance to the people of our region,” said Corey Clarke, coordinator of the Atlantic Salmon Recovery Project at the park. “The stories about Atlantic salmon fishing around the Bay of Fundy are many. People really are connected to this animal.”

The Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon was once plentiful in the region, but now the population is endangered. It is a distinct population that is genetically and behaviourally different from other Atlantic salmon.

“They are commonly accepted to have a limited marine migration,” Clarke said. “That means they don’t go very far into the ocean like other Atlantic salmon populations do once they leave the rivers.”

At one time, the salmon grew up in the rivers in the Fundy region, then spent a year and a half in the Bay of Fundy before returning to the rivers to spawn. But that’s not happening now.

“They don’t make it back from the Bay of Fundy, the way they used to,” Clarke said, explaining the park has been working on recovery programs for more than a decade without much success. But recently, they began a partnership with the Fort Folly First Nation, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, Cooke Aquaculture and the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association that they hope will be more fruitful.

The federal government says it will assist with the program.

On Thursday, Clarke showed off a few hundred salmon that had been collected from rivers just as they began their migration to the Bay of Fundy. They will spend this winter at a facility belonging to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, then some of them will be sent to sea cages at Cooke Aquaculture, where they will be reared for 12 to 18 months.

Clarke said the sea cages are important because they learned fish reared exclusively in captivity have had issues reintegrating into the wild and would not lead to a recovered population.

“They have all the exposure to the winds, the tides, the seasons, the temperatures, predators — although the predators can’t get at them, they’re there,” said Howard Streight from Cooke Aquaculture, explaining that it is as close to wild that they can do while maintaining control of the salmon.

Cooke Aquaculture has already begun the program by taking a group of fish in the spring and another group last month. The fish are in sea cages off Grand Manan Island.

Technology has been used to grow fish for the seafood market for more than three decades, though in this case, the fish will be returned to the wild.

Fish health is critically important to the project and all of the wild salmon are tested before they are stocked in the farm to ensure they don’t bring any health issues. They are also monitored by in-house veterinarians and fish health technicians, and the company follows strict industry measures like low-stocking densities in the cages.

The program also allows the organization to track the fish and learn more about where salmon travel when they migrate.

After their time in the sea cages, the fish are released in an intertidal zone during high tide that is at the point where fresh and salt water meet. Salmon usually spend their adult life in salt water, but then return to fresh water to reproduce.

“The point where we release them is right where that two points come together,” said Streight. “So the fish have the opportunity if they are still really wanting to stay in the salt water, they can come downstream. If they feel they are comfortable in the environment, they can go upstream into the fresh water and start to find their spawning mate.”

Part of the government funding is also going specifically towards programs bringing visitors of the park closer to the salmon.

“The idea here is that when we begin to release adult fish back to the rivers, the public will be invited in unprecedented ways to be present and help us and see these fish in their natural environment,” Clarke said

He said the hope is that the program will be temporary and eventually the salmon will be able to survive on their own.

Funding to improve park, surrounding area

The money from the federal government also includes $5 million for infrastructure projects, including $4.4 million for  improvements to Highway 114 leading into Fundy and $567,000 for repairs to bridges and culverts in the park.

The investments are already helping the nearby village of Alma, according to its mayor.

“We as a small village will certainly enjoy all the added benefits coming our way, which are generated by this project,” said Kirstin Shortt during the press conference. “Already we see economic impact on our village by having such a large work crew here.”