Risk & Business Magazine Cain Insurance Risk & Business Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 29

FEATURE ARTICLE: MSA
organization whose vision resonates with
just about everyone, even those that have no
experience angling or handling salmon.
• Funding school-based programs
including art and writing contests,
in-class aquariums, hatchery tours, fly-
fishing mentoring events, and awarding
the annual Jack T. H. Fenety university
scholarship
• Working with First Nations groups for
improved co-management of salmon
stocks
• Advocating for policies and regulations
that champion the salmon resource
and support the recreational fishery
throughout the Miramichi River
system
• Collaborating with other public
and private agencies to protect and
conserve the environmental integrity
of the Miramichi River watershed
The MSA spreads its efforts over a variety
of conservation, research, and educational
programs, including the following:
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Continued operation and improvement
of the enhancement production
facilities at the Miramichi Salmon
Conservation Centre in South Esk, NB
Conducting smolt-tracking research
to determine the survival rates as well
as locations and possible causes for
increased smolt mortality during their
annual spring migration from the river,
through the estuary, and out to the
open sea
Collaborating with the Atlantic
Salmon Federation (ASF) to track
the movements and behaviour of
adult spring salmon in the ocean
using acoustic and pop-off satellite
transmitters
Annual electrofishing to monitor the
distribution of young juvenile salmon
throughout the watershed to identify
areas for stocking
• Removing spawning obstructions to
ensure all key tributaries are clean and
clear of obstructions, such as beaver
dams, thus permitting salmon access
to key spawning habitat
• Collaborating in the care and
maintenance of the Crown Reserve
angling camps along the Miramichi
River
While each and every one of the above
programs is critically important, two
relatively recent conservation activities
have begun to garner great interest and
support. The first is enhancing cold-water
sanctuaries to provide young and adult
salmon thermal relief during stressful
periods, such as high heat and low water. As
climate change promotes increasing water
temperatures, wild Atlantic salmon are
now having to tolerate an ever-increasing
number of stressful and life-threatening
warm water occurrences (i.e., 20°C and
above). Consequently, cold-water thermal
refuges are fast becoming a key limiting
factor for salmon during their time in the
Miramichi River. Responding to this need,
in 2014 the MSA initiated a five-year-plus
strategic initiative to restore and improve
key cold-water refuges throughout the
main stems of the watershed. By the end
of 2017, eight cold-water restoration and
enhancement projects will have been
completed in the Miramichi watershed.
The second program is the Smolt to Adult
Salmon (SAS) research project where the
MSA is taking a leadership role. One of
four science projects being undertaken
by Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon
Tomorrow (CAST), this SAS research
program involves the rearing of wild Atlantic
salmon smolts to mature adult salmon
at the MSCC hatchery, thereby bypassing
the ever-growing high “at-sea” smolt
mortality suffered during their migration
to sea. Once sexually mature, these adult
salmon will be released back into the same
tributary from which they were captured
as smolts. Their spawning success will be
tracked and monitored to determine if this
conservation effort is a viable way to help
bolster populations and thereby help ensure
a healthy population for future decades. For
more detailed information on CAST, visit
www.castforsalmon.com.
The MSA is composed of two organisations:
the Miramichi Salmon Association, Inc., and
a sister organization located in the United
States, the Miramichi Salmon Association
(US), Inc. Each is registered as a nonprofit
charitable organisation and is primarily
managed by a board of directors. For more
information about the MSA, you can visit
http://www.miramichisalmon.ca, follow
the association on Facebook, or contact its
South Esk office at 506-622-4000. +
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