SMS

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Require DFO to Balance Management of all species

Our goal is to negotiate or litigate a viable and balanced management program backed with science based information. This will restore the historic balance of all native species in the Miramichi River system. This cannot be accomplished without DFO's support and involvement as well as support from all the river's user groups.

The Issues

"Our goal is to restore ecosystem balance through science based management of all the river's resources."


by: Concerned Canadians

Department of Fisheries and Oceans DFO

In 2019, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans issued a document requiring DFO to balance the Atlantic salmon and striped bass populations in the Southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence.  Since that time DFO has done nothing to comply with the Standing Committee report.  Today, the population of Atlantic salmon is at […]

Stock Supplementation

Since DFO sold the South Esk hatchery, they have not participated in stocking the river at any level.  They need to financially support the hatchery infrastructure and staffing of this facility to allow it to operate at maximum capacity with a fry stocking program and a robust smolt to adult salmon supplementation program.  They also […]

Striped Bass

The striped bass population has grown from 5,000 to 1M+, whereas a population with a LRP of 30,000 and a target of 100,000 spawners is adequate to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Striped bass eat salmon smolts as they migrate to the ocean. The dramatic increase in the striped bass population has resulted in decreased survival […]

The current precipitous decline of Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi River has been rigorously studied by a variety of departments and organizations, not limited to DFO, MSA, ASF and CAST. Everyone knows what balanced management programs should be implemented. The "do nothing" approach that DFO has relied on in the past has proven to be ineffective. Now is the time for action; now is the time for Save Miramichi Salmon's action plan.

This website and SMS’s action is not affiliated in any way with MSA, ASF, CAST Program, NB Salmon Council or any other conservation groups or organizations.

We are a group of riparian landowners, outfitters and fisherman who want to have DFO manage according to the Fisheries Act and balance the Miramichi ecosystem. Immediate action is needed to save Atlantic salmon. The cost to DFO and the government is minimal. It requires DFO to recognize the crisis and to work with local non-governmental organizations and associations who want to save this historically valuable resource.