Wild Atlantic Salmon Conservation in Fundy National Park

For over a decade, Parks Canada, Fort Folly First Nation and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) have worked together to restore and maintain the Inner Bay of Fundy (IBoF) salmon population at Fundy National Park. Declared endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, this population has been at risk of being extirpated (completely removed or absent from this area) since 2001.   

Early recovery efforts succeeded in preventing the extirpation of the IBoF salmon population. While the cause of the initial decline is complex, the solution to reinstating wild salmon was developed through an innovative - and perhaps unexpected - partnership. Along with its original partners, Parks Canada developed a pilot project to grow juvenile wild salmon from Fundy National Park in marine net pens operated by the aquaculture industry in the Bay of Fundy. When mature, the adult salmon are released back to their natal rivers to spawn naturally. Since this initiative was first implemented, adults have survived, and have been observed returning the following year. This has contributed to recent 20-year high salmon counts in two park rivers: the Upper Salmon River and the Point Wolfe River. 

This program is unique, both in terms of its approach to recovery, and its partnerships. Cooke Aquaculture and the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association have worked to establish the world’s first wild marine farm site dedicated to wild salmon conservation. Operated and equipped by Cooke Aquaculture, this farm only grows wild Atlantic salmon. Most of these fish are collected as smolt, or juveniles, from IBoF rivers, while some were raised to the smolt stage at the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Live Gene Bank in Mactaquac. Once the salmon mature, adult fish are transported back to natal rivers and released. They are regularly monitored, and data is collected and analyzed in order to continually improve the project’s approach. Thousands of adult salmon have already been released to multiple Bay of Fundy rivers from this collaborative project, and early results suggest their offspring have survived well in the wild. 

Through its Conservation and Restoration Program, Parks Canada takes actions to preserve national parks and contribute to the recovery of species at risk. This innovative and collaborative approach to species at risk recovery is redefining how government, Indigenous communities, private industry and academia can work together to achieve unprecedented conservation gains.

PROJECT PARTNERS AND ROLES

Parks Canada

Parks Canada is a recognized world leader in conservation. With a mandate to protect Canada's natural heritage and foster public education and appreciation, Parks Canada has a responsibility to help the wild Atlantic salmon native to Fundy National Park rivers. As a co-founder of the Fundy Salmon Recovery project, Parks Canada’s researchers developed the fundamental concept of this project – the more time wild salmon spend in their natural environment, the better equipped they are to survive.

Parks Canada is proud to have helped build the strong partnership that is now successfully returning hundreds of healthy, adult salmon to Fundy National Park’s rivers each fall.

Cooke Aquaculture

Cooke Aquaculture is a family-owned, vertically integrated, global seafood company with headquarters in Blacks Harbour, N.B. Founded in 1985, Cooke has extensive knowledge and experience in growing Atlantic salmon through its entire lifecycle.

As a major partner of the Fundy Salmon Recovery project, Cooke Aquaculture is proud to be part of developing the world’s first marine farm dedicated to wild Atlantic salmon conservation. Cooke personnel (Kelly Cove Salmon and GMG) supplied and installed customized farm equipment and are the daily caretakers of the wild fish through feed and nutrition, health monitoring and equipment maintenance. Charlotte Feeds in St. George and Northeast Nutrition in Truro, N.S. provide feed and nutrition expertise.

The Cooke Shoreland Transport team and trucking partners assisted Kelly Cove Salmon in the movement of fish as smolts from the river to the conservation farm at Dark Harbour, Grand Manan and as adult fish moving from the farm site back to their rivers.

Fort Folly Habitat Recovery

The Fort Folly Habitat Recovery (FFHR) Program was initiated in 1993, focusing mainly on restoration projects surrounding local environmental issues. In 1998, the first meeting for the IBoF Atlantic Salmon Recovery Team was held in conjunction with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. During this time, the Live Gene Bank was established to rescue remaining IBoF Atlantic Salmon at Mactaquac hatchery and support reproduction and survival. In 2001, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed the IBoF Atlantic Salmon as endangered.

Since 2001, the FFHR Team has been involved in recovery actions on numerous IBoF rivers including the Big Salmon River, the Upper Salmon river, the Pollett River, and the Petitcodiac River/estuary. The team includes biologists and field technicians who are involved in capturing wild smolts and subsequently returning the adult salmon to the rivers.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The Live Gene Bank at the DFO facility in Mactaquac is critical to preserving native species like the endangered IBoF Atlantic Salmon. As the federal regulator of aquatic species at risk, DFO is involved in permits for fish movements and stocking and oversee several aspects of the project.

N.B. Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (DAAF)

As the regulator of aquaculture activities in New Brunswick, the N.B. DAAF oversees activities at the marine conservation farm at Dark Harbour, Grand Manan, and is a leader in fish health management for the project.

Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association

The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) is an industry-funded association working on behalf of the salmon farming industry in Atlantic Canada. The ACFFA is a co-founder of the recovery project, and continues to play an important project management and administrative role, coordinating logistics across a large and diverse group of partners while always maintaining focus on the fish.

University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick (Canadian Rivers Institute) researchers conduct “big picture” work, studying the impacts on the river systems as salmon populations are rebuilt. Their work focuses on what’s happening to the river ecosystem as salmon are returning.

Village of Grand Manan

The Village of Grand Manan owns the Dark Harbour site where the Fundy Salmon Recovery conservation farm is located. The Village has granted use of the site for this project. Without this support from the Village of Grand Manan, the project as it exists today would not be possible.

The Fundy Salmon Recovery project also receives funding support from the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation, which supports Fort Folly Habitat Recovery, and the N.B. Wildlife Trust Fund.

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