Atlantic Salmon Counts On The Rise In Maine & Canada - The Fisherman

Atlantic Salmon Counts On The Rise In Maine & Canada

Last fall, divers with Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans canvassed the Restigouche River in northern New Brunswick looking for salmon. Since 1999, the Restigouche snorkel count has been tallying the adult Atlantic salmon spotted during spawning season. But last year, divers counted about 10,500 salmon, more than twice the number tallied the year before. In 2019, the total count was about 4,200 large salmon, and since 1999, the highest tally of any year was 8,000.

Last year’s increase wasn’t limited to the Restigouche River. Biologists are reporting greater salmon populations throughout the region. According to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a recent population report showed returns of adult salmon from the ocean were up around 70 percent in Labrador last year, 27 percent in Quebec and 20 percent in Maine.

“All year, we were hearing from anglers that they were seeing more fish, they were seeing bigger fish,” said Neville Crabbe, spokesperson for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

The increases in returning salmon were published in a report released earlier this year by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Also known as ICES, the collective is made up of scientists and researchers from 20 member countries, including Canada, focusing on marine and ocean studies. 

The ICES report points out that in the Maritimes, “population-monitoring activities were limited, and the status of some stocks could not be reported to ICES.” And the numbers the group did tally are still a far cry from the salmon numbers of a few decades ago.

“In the late 1970s, it was estimated there were 1.9 million returning adult salmon to all of the rivers in North America,” said Crabbe. “And for the last year of which we have data, that number was 435,000. That’s a very steep drop.” In the Miramichi River alone, adult salmon numbers decreased from 112,000 in 1992 to 15,300 in 2019, according to federation numbers. Still, having the population numbers go up even a bit, instead of plummeting, is enough to give some biologists a small bit of hope.

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