Two weeks ago, Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow (CAST) appealed to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) to share their science that supports blocking our plan of restoring wild Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi River.
Two weeks have passed and neither DFO nor ASF have responded.
The Miramichi Atlantic Salmon are in crisis and we have a plan to help - Smolt-to Adult Supplementation or SAS.
SAS is a proactive plan to reverse the decline of the population. Our plan is simple – raise wild Atlantic salmon to maturity and release them back to their home rivers so they can spawn naturally and get millions more salmon eggs back in the river.
Our plan is supported by 6 research scientists at the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick and Université Laval.
Our plan has been peer reviewed twice and deemed acceptable by Canadian and international Atlantic salmon experts selected by DFO.
Our plan’s implementation is supported by the Miramichi Salmon Association.
Our plan is not new – SAS has been tried successfully for over 20 years in the Pacific Northwest and for 15 years here at home in the Tobique River.
DFO, supported by the ASF are blocking the plan. But, they have provided NO scientific evidence to support their position.
Who speaks for New Brunswick’s iconic Miramichi Atlantic Salmon?
Is it camp owners, guides, and cooks with their heritage and livelihoods at stake? Is it New Brunswickers of all ages who have enjoyed salmon fishing for generations? Is it researchers with the science, passion and action plan to reverse the trend of population decline?
Or
Is it DFO bureaucrats from Ottawa and Moncton whose jobs are secure regardless of how many Atlantic salmon are present in the Miramichi? Is it the directors of Atlantic Salmon Federation living in New York and Toronto who will simply find another place to fish when our last Miramichi Atlantic salmon is gone?
