Quebec has introduced new restrictions on Atlantic salmon fishing because of well-below-average annual runs in most of the province’s rivers. A conservation group that represents the interests of Quebec’s Atlantic salmon fishermen says the province should go further.
Although he was pleased with the changes, the exceptional nature of this year’s salmon runs justifies a more cautious approach, said Normand Fiset, president of the Quebec Atlantic Salmon Federation.
“In order to be consistent with our conservation strategies, we recommend that we proceed to [100 %] to catch and release, at least for the remainder of this season,” Mr. Fiset proposed.
And we’re going to have to sit down this winter with [le ministère de l’Environnement] to determine what type of management plan to put in place from 2025.
Normand Fiset, President of the Quebec Federation for Atlantic Salmon
The restrictions put in place by the provincial Ministry of the Environment came into effect on July 25. They apply to rivers in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, the Capitale-Nationale, the Côte-Nord – including Anticosti Island –, the Gaspé and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
The new rules for southern Quebec rivers prohibit sport fishermen from catching salmon measuring more than 63 centimetres and having spent two or more winters at sea. Salmon of this size are mostly female and are responsible for a “significant” deposit of eggs in rivers, the government says.
The rules are in effect at least until the end of this year’s season in September.
For the grilse, a small Atlantic salmon, daily quotas vary from river to river. Born in fresh water, the grilse is a small Atlantic salmon that has spent only one winter at sea to feed and grow, before returning to fresh water to reproduce or spawn.
In rivers classified as “healthy”, the daily number of grilse allowed to be caught per fisherman has been reduced from two to one. Fishermen will be allowed to keep only one, or even no salmon, in rivers known as “cautionary”, depending on the precariousness of the stock. In rivers classified as “critical”, no salmon will be allowed to be kept.
As for catch-and-release fishing, the new rules reduce the daily quota from three catches to two in all affected regions, except on the Lower North Shore, where quotas were previously non-existent and are now set at three.
Quebec has left open the possibility of changing the rules as of 1er August, Mr. Fiset noted.
Even though grilse do not have a major effect on reproduction, Mr. Fiset believes that given the current situation, it is better to be cautious and require fishermen to release all salmon caught over the next few weeks.
Quebec is the only jurisdiction that manages its Atlantic salmon fishery; the other provinces rely on the federal Department of Fisheries.
Moratorium requested
In an open letter published Tuesday in the newspaper “Le Soleil”, some fishermen called for a moratorium on recreational salmon fishing. But Myriam Bergeron, executive director of the Quebec Atlantic Salmon Federation, said in an interview that a moratorium would not lead to an increased return of salmon to Quebec rivers.
The province’s rivers remain fairly productive, Normand Fiset stressed, but fewer fish are returning to spawn after spending the winter at sea.
Almost all rivers that flow into the [golfe du Saint-Laurent] are experiencing this decline, while other rivers, some in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and northern Labrador, which flow directly into the Labrador Sea, do not appear to have the same kind of problem.
Normand Fiset, President of the Quebec Federation for Atlantic Salmon
The grilse mortality rate has been higher than usual in recent years, he said, and fishermen expect fewer of them to return to the province’s rivers this year.
“We’re not sure what it is, nobody is sure,” Fiset surmised of the underlying reasons.
“We know that the source of the problem is probably the warming of the sea surface temperature in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, because it seems that most of the rivers that flow into the Gulf are more affected than others.”
Fiset hopes to get all stakeholders on the same page. “I think it’s very important that we engage everyone involved in Atlantic salmon conservation in North America to better understand what’s happening at sea.”