Fundy Salmon Recovery collaborators release endangered plamu (Atlantic salmon) back to the Petitcodiac watershed

Amlamgog (Fort Folly First Nation) is in the spotlight as experts in Indigenous-led conservation.

This year marks one of the largest numbers of endangered Atlantic salmon released as part of the Petitcodiac branch of the Fundy Salmon Recovery project. Throughout September and October, over 1,200 mature salmon will be released into the blessed waters of the Petitcodiac watershed. The release today is led by Amlamgog Chief Rebecca Knockwood and Knowledge Keeper Nicole Porter.

“Plamu”, meaning salmon, is a very important species to the Mi’gmaq and to Fort Folly First Nation. In the heart of their traditional territory, the Petitcodiac River was once home to about 20% of the total inner Bay of Fundy population. In 2003, this population was listed under the Species at Risk Act after witnessing major declines in numbers of returning adults - from 40,000 to an estimate of fewer than 200. The construction of the Petitcodiac River causeway in 1968, among the many other ecological shifts of the time, jeopardized this vital species and the traditions that it held. In the early 2000s, Amlamgog formed many partnerships with environmental leaders and worked to prepare the community, especially youth, to one day lead efforts to restore endangered salmon populations. These partnerships developed with Parks Canada and Fisheries and Oceans are still holding strong today. When the causeway gates opened in 2010, Fort Folly was confident in taking a leading role in salmon recovery efforts. Now, after years of dedication to species and habitat recovery, as well as building technical capacity and maintaining strong partnerships, Fort Folly and the Fundy Salmon Recovery team have re-established the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon population in the Petitcodiac, with salmon of all life stages being found throughout the watershed.

The Mi’gmaq have been on this landscape since time immemorial. The Petitcodiac gets its name from the Mi’kmaq “Petigotiag,” meaning “the river that bends like a bow.” These waters have been of extreme significance to the Mi’gmaq, being used for travel, trade, and sustenance. The plamu, or Atlantic salmon, were once plentiful and served as a significant food source for the Mi’gmaq. When these fish were extirpated from the Petitcodiac watershed, a piece of Mi’gmaq culture was also lost. Today, as we celebrate the release of over 1,200 plamu into the Petitcodiac watershed over the next few weeks, we honour the collaboration and leadership of Amlamgog in salmon conservation and respect the knowledge and spirit of Mi’gmaq Knowledge Holders and Elders, past and present.

Fundy Salmon Recovery includes Fort Folly First Nation, Parks Canada, Cooke Aquaculture, Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, the University of New Brunswick and the Province of New Brunswick. Together, they have pioneered the world’s first wild salmon marine conservation farm on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. This is where wild salmon, collected from inner Bay of Fundy rivers as juveniles, are grown to maturity before being released back into their native watershed. The goal is that these fish will naturally spawn the next generation of wild salmon, providing their offspring with early exposure to the wild and therefore the best chance of survival as adults. The work has led to numbers of naturally returning and spawning Atlantic salmon in participating rivers not seen in decades.

Quick Facts

  • The inner Bay of Fundy population of Atlantic salmon has been listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act since 2003. In an effort to save this declining population, some of the last remaining wild salmon were collected for "live gene banking". This has protected the unique genetic lineage of this population which would have otherwise been lost.
  • Fundy Salmon Recovery is working on two inner Bay of Fundy Rivers - the Petitcodiac River system by Fort Folly Habitat Recovery and the Upper Salmon River in Fundy National Park by Parks Canada.
  • Wild endangered Atlantic salmon are grown to maturity on the world's first Wild Salmon Marine Conservation Farm at Dark Harbour on Grand Manan Island, NB. Cooke Aquaculture operates and maintains the farm, which has been provided by the Village of Grand Manan, with operations support from the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association.
  • Salmon are health tested in the rivers and on the conservation farm by the Province of New Brunswick veterinarians with regular monitoring and surveillance by Cooke veterinarians and fish health staff.
  • Salmon and salmon habitat research and monitoring projects led by Fundy Salmon Recovery include: Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) river arrays, radio telemetry, adult snorkel survey monitoring, wild salmon genetic analysis, juvenile salmon monitoring program, aquatic invertebrate and habitat monitoring, marine derived nutrient research, marine smolt survival, feed regimes and citizen science programming.

Fundy Salmon Recovery

A revolutionary partnership - Fundy Salmon Recovery - in association with academia, First Nations, government and private industry, is working together to raise and release over 1,300 wild endangered inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon in hopes that these adult salmon will spawn naturally in their native rivers. This project is based on research that Atlantic salmon have a better chance of survival when they are exposed to a wild environment at a young age, and the best chance if they are hatched in the wild.

Fundy Salmon Recovery is made up of six partners: Parks Canada, Cooke Aquaculture, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA), the University of New Brunswick, the Province of New Brunswick, and Fort Folly First Nation. These organizations are united and inspired to work together for a common goal - to restore the historic wild Atlantic salmon populations to the inner Bay of Fundy for generations to come.

The Live Gene Bank, based out of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility, protects the unique families of the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon population by collecting juveniles from the wild, growing them to maturity, and spawning them in captivity. The fry produced from these spawnings are released back to the wild. Once the fry grow to be young salmon (smolts), Fort Folly Habitat Recovery, the University of New Brunswick, and Parks Canada work to retrieve a portion of the smolts from Fundy National Park rivers and the Petitcodiac watershed.

Fundy Salmon Recovery has established the World's First Wild Salmon Conservation Marine Farm on Grand Manan Island to achieve their desired outcome - a self-sustaining salmon run. Young salmon smolts collected from the rivers are transported to the conservation farm to be grown until maturity. While in the conservation farm, these salmon are cared for by staff from Cooke Aquaculture, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association and the Province of New Brunswick. Fundy Salmon Recovery is the first project in the world to collect juvenile fish after they have spent the critical early life stages in the wild, then transport those fish to be cared for in an ocean environment at a dedicated marine farm site. The site is equipped with custom designed conservation aquaculture net pens - the first of its kind in the world. The fish are fed specialized diets developed by biologists and aquaculture nutrition experts.

Once the salmon are mature, they are released back into Fundy National Park rivers and the Petitcodiac watershed where the survival of their offspring, from egg to young salmon, will continue the cycle.

Back in the rivers, salmon are continuously monitored by University of New Brunswick scientists. Using advanced technology, scientists are able to detect the number of project salmon that enter and depart the project rivers. They are also monitoring wild returning salmon genetics, river nutrient levels and ecosystem health.

Fort Folly First Nation and Fort Folly Habitat Recovery

Fort Folly First Nation first developed a habitat recovery program in 1993, with a primary focus on restoration projects surrounding local environmental issues. The program began expanding in 1998, when the first meeting for the inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) Atlantic Salmon Recovery Team was held in conjunction with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. During this time, the Live Gene Bank, based out of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility, was established to prevent extinction of the species. In 1999, Fort Folly First Nation began developing partnerships with both Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada Agency to aid in Atlantic salmon monitoring efforts and recovery actions on numerous inner Bay of Fundy rivers. The program eventually evolved and was rebuilt as Fort Folly Habitat Recovery in 2004.

The partnerships developed during the inception of Fort Folly Habitat Recovery remained strong as years passed, eventually evolving and expanding into Fundy Salmon Recovery. A leading figure in the development of these partnerships was the late Chief Joseph "Joe" Knockwood, who prepared young members of Fort Folly First Nation to one day lead efforts to restore the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon population to the Petitcodiac watershed. During his tenure as Chief, Joe was also an active voice calling for the removal of the Petitcodiac causeway, which was a significant barrier to migrating Atlantic salmon that was built in 1968. This causeway has since been removed, allowing for Atlantic salmon to migrate freely throughout the Petitcodiac watershed. Chief Joe's passion for the conservation and restoration of the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon population, particularly in the Petitcodiac watershed, has been a key driver in the success of what has today become the Fundy Salmon Recovery program.

Contacts

Maegan Burtt
Communications
Fort Folly Habitat Recovery/Fort Folly First Nation
maegan.burtt@ffhr.ca
506-471-6717