Monday, September 13, 2004

Anglers who release their catches of wild Atlantic salmon are helping to level off a 30-year decline. “Live release of both salmon and grilse is an important component to environmentally-sustainable angling and is helping to stem a free fall from 1.5 million salmon in the mid seventies to fewer than .5 million last year,” says Bill Taylor, President of the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF).

More and more anglers are doing their part. Of the returning salmon to eastern Canadian rivers in 2003, anglers caught 17 %, and they released 60% of their catch. This year, large repeat-spawning salmon, weighing from 15 to in excess of 50 lbs, were seen in abundance on many rivers, such as the Miramichi and Restigouche rivers in New Brunswick, the St. Paul’s, Grande Cascapedia, Bonaventure, and Moisie rivers in Quebec, and the Eagle and Pinware rivers in Labrador. In Newfoundland, more large salmon have returned then last year to counting facilities on such rivers as Terra Nova, Rocky, Highlands, and Western Arm Brook.

On the Grande Cascapedia, for example, the release rate has climbed from 26% in 1998 to 85% in 2004, and this has, for the most part, been voluntary. The pay off for anglers and guides who have been fishing or working on the river for several decades is a significant increase in thirty, forty and even fifty pound salmon this season.

Both the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec issue live-release only licenses that are readily purchased by conservation-spirited anglers. Live release angling allows anglers to enjoy their sport, conserve salmon and contribute to rural economies of communities in eastern Canada. The salmon recreational fishery is worth more than $200 million to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Unlike Pacific salmon, wild Atlantic salmon have the advantage of returning to North American rivers where they were born to spawn again and again, sometimes up to seven times. Each time an Atlantic salmon makes its migration to the sea and back, it grows substantially. It is a huge thrill to anglers and nature lovers alike to see a wild Atlantic salmon break through the water in powerful jumps, a thrill that can be handed on to others through live release.

To join the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s Live Release Club and participate in an incentive draw for prizes of fishing-related items, release your fish and fill in the forms in the brochure in your salmon angling license package. For more information on this program, visit www.asf.ca

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