Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced more than $1 million in government grants to Ducks Unlimited Canada Tuesday, as part of an investment in the coastal restoration of the inner Bay of Fundy coastal river.
The money will be used by biologists to improve access to fish habitats in the inner Bay of Fundy coastal rivers. They’re removing barriers and using fish passage science to improve the performance of fish ladders and water control structures, which will in turn will allow more fish to pass through and increase the diversity of species.
“It will help the health of both systems: the fish coming in after they spawn, the young fish returning to the Bay of Fundy,” said Biologist Nic McLellan with Ducks Unlimited Canada.
The cash infusion comes from the Coastal Restoration Fund, a $1.5 billion plan aimed at protecting Canada’s coasts and waterways.
The research won’t just benefit Atlantic Canada. It’s hoped that it can be used across the country and even internationally.
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“If those lessons from an engineering or environmental perspective are learned here in the inner Bay of Fundy, I don’t see any reason why they can’t be applied globally in fact,” said LeBlanc.
They’ve already been conducting research at the Beaubassin Research Station for more than six years.
WATCH: 1,000 Atlantic salmon are back in their natural habitat — N.B.’s Fundy National Park
“It’s applied science and informing our decisions,” said McLellan.
The money will be spread out over five years and much of the research will be conducted by graduates and undergraduates from Acadia University in Nova Scotia.
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