Review of salmon management measures

The Commission reviewed the 1998 and 1999 Canadian and US Salmon Management Measures.  In the fall of 1997, in response to the crisis in salmon stocks, the Atlantic salmon became one of the conservation priorities adopted by the Canadian Fisheries Minister.  The 1998 Canadian Salmon Management Plan included an extension of the moratorium on commercial salmon fishing in Newfoundland, further reductions in retention in the recreational fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador, closure of some rivers in all provinces and further restrictions on hook and release fisheries.  In Quebec, a voluntary commercial licence retirement offer worth $1.4 million had been introduced and in Labrador the remaining commercial fishery was closed.  Highlights of the 1999 Canadian Salmon Management Plan include a new approach in Newfoundland based on a river classification system, and the development of conservation thresholds for rivers in Quebec.  In the USA the commercial salmon fishery ended in 1948 and there is catch and release fishing only in the recreational fishery.  US management actions taken included: acceptance by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service of a Conservation Plan for Protection of Atlantic salmon and their habitat in Maine which includes measures to minimise impacts of aquaculture, forestry, agriculture and recreational fishing; and the issue of an order for the decommissioning and removal of Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River for fish habitat reasons.  The State of Maine is further restricting water withdrawals, closing the catch and release fishery in certain rivers and promulgating regulations for a code of containment for the aquaculture industry.

Introductions and transfers

The Commission received reports on the activities of its Scientific Working Group on Salmonid Introductions and Transfers covering 1997 and 1998.  Reported introductions and transfers were evaluated against the NAC Protocols for the Introduction and Transfer of Salmonids which had been developed to minimise the risk of the introduction and spread of infectious diseases and agents; to prevent the reduction in genetic diversity and prevent the introduction of non-adaptive genes to wild salmon populations; and to minimise the other impacts of introductions and transfers.

In 1998, proposals for revisions to the NAC Protocols were considered by the Commission.  These included a shift from a geographic to a river basis classification system, use of protected zones rather than exclusion zones, new protocols on transgenic salmonids and increased emphasis on risk analysis.  It was agreed that recommendations for modifications to the revised protocols would be provided by the Parties.

St Pierre et Miquelon fisheries

There are salmon fisheries on the islands of St Pierre et Miquelon (off the south coast of Newfoundland) which exploit salmon of North American origin.  These islands are French dependencies and are not members of the Commission.  Information from the Government of France on the fisheries at St Pierre et Miquelon was considered by the Commission.  This indicated that, while the statistics for St Pierre et Miquelon refer to "commercial" and "recreational" catches, the "commercial" fishery is conducted by fishermen from communities which are heavily dependent on fishing and these fisheries should more appropriately be described as "subsistence" fisheries.  Enforcement of the salmon fishery regulations is very thorough and the French authorities had agreed to improve their reporting procedures so as to avoid the discrepancies in the statistics noted by the Commission in the past.  In 1998 the catch had increased as a result of an increase in the number of licences issued and an increase in salmon in the coastal waters of St Pierre et Miquelon.  The Commission expressed concern about the increase in catch, particularly given the precarious state of North American stocks, and the Council will take the matter up with the French authorities.