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Post-Season Review shows successful year for salmon
conservation and enforcement
St. John’s – The highlights of a post-season review of the 2004 salmon season by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region are significant poaching charges and improved salmon returns on more than 60 per cent of the province’s monitored rivers. These successes were in large part the result of enhanced public awareness achieved through community conservation initiatives and stakeholder consultations, as well as the result of focused compliance and enforcement efforts.
Major Poaching Charges
A new inland fisheries compliance strategy implemented in 2003 to increase community stewardship and to focus enforcement efforts on serious poaching problems has proven effective. The 2004 salmon season enforcement efforts to date have resulted in over 250 charges being laid or pending, up from 177 in 2003. Numerous significant poaching operations in coastal and inland waters have been shut down this year. This included a major salmon trafficking ring in the Trout River area dismantled by a long-term joint undercover operation led by the Provincial Department of Natural Resources. Provincial conservation officers collaborated in many of the successful enforcement operations carried out by DFO fishery officers and guardians in 2004.
Provincial courts have handed down significant penalties for 2004 violations, many including large fines and angling prohibitions, as well as some jail time. For example, on September 8, 2004, a Hare Bay man was ordered to spend 30 days in jail after being convicted of netting salmon in inland waters. A White Bay man was recently fined $5,000 for fishing for salmon during a closed time and obstruction for fleeing the scene.
Salmon Returns
Salmon research conducted by DFO’s Science Branch on the current status of Atlantic Salmon in 24 rivers in the province indicates that the number of fish entering 22 of these rivers increased or is on par with the returns for the past two years. Some significant improvements are seen on the Conne River on the south coast, where 3,816 salmon have returned this year, up from 1,918 in 2003, and on the Torrent River on the west coast, where 4,879 salmon returned this year, up from 3,627 in 2003.
Although there were some improvements in the salmon returns for 2004, the overall abundance of salmon is still below the average returns from 1992 to 2003 and abundance is considerably below levels observed in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. There is particular concern about the low returns of large salmon in most Bay St. George rivers and the apparent low returns to northern Labrador rivers.
At-sea survival remains highly variable and generally low, even with reductions in directed marine fisheries since 1992. DFO scientists will continue their efforts into understanding freshwater and marine survival of salmon, and examine ways to rebuild these salmon populations.
Community Conservation Initiatives & Consultations
Community conservation initiatives, with emphasis on stakeholder participation, continue to be a priority for DFO. Over the past year, DFO has held 14 public consultations in communities across the province to develop Atlantic Salmon conservation and stock recovery plans for various river systems. These include the Ragged Harbour River and Northwest River in Port Blandford, the Gander River and eight rivers in Bay St. George. These efforts have been supported by contracting two temporary stewardship coordinators to assist stewardship conservation groups in developing education and awareness strategies and conservation plans. These plans will be presented and reviewed at the annual DFO Salmonid Advisory meeting scheduled for January 25, 2005, in St. John’s.
Community involvement in compliance and enforcement was also improved in 2004 by the addition of a compliance monitoring project on the Gander River. A total of 47 persons were employed in 2004 by community and aboriginal groups to perform patrols and other compliance functions on various river systems under joint projects financially supported by DFO. These personnel often worked with DFO fishery officers and guardians, and were an important part of local conservation efforts.
The annual Conservation and Protection workshop/consultation session on inland compliance held in November provided key stakeholders province-wide with an opportunity to make recommendations about compliance and enforcement operations for 2005.
Public Awareness
In 2004, DFO strengthened its partnership with Crime Stoppers, a program that allows members of the public to anonymously report crimes including illegal fishing activity. More than half of the fishery-related tips received by Crime Stoppers in 2004 were about salmon and a number of these calls led to successful apprehensions of poachers.
Salmon continues to be a major focus of attention for DFO in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region. It is expected that the conservation and protection initiatives undertaken in 2004 will be continued and expanded in the future. DFO hopes to continue working with anglers and the general public, as well as with partner agencies such as the provincial government, to build on the successes of 2004 and conserve and protect Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2005 and beyond.
For more information:
Bob Fagan
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7627
Susan Keough
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7628
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