Conservationist profile : Rosemarie Gagnon-Poiré

Rosemarie Gagnon-Poiré is a bioecology technician and a graduate biologist from l’Université Laval, Quebec. Through her journey, she developed a strong interest for ichthyology and fish ecology. In 2014, she started her masters at l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Quebec, under the supervision of Professor Normand Bergeron, scientific director of the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le saumon atlantique (CIRSA) [Inter-university Atlantic salmon research centre], and a fluvial geomorphologist and an expert in salmon river habitat. Her research project is focused on the fragmentation of juvenile Atlantic salmon habitat by forest and road culverts.  By monitoring small scale movements of more than 500 juvenile salmon through culverts in the territory of Grande Cascapédia River (Gaspésie, Québec) and Sainte-Marguerite River (Saguenay, Québec), Rosemarie was able to create a link between morphometric features such as the slope and the length of culverts and the capacity of the fish to overcome those structures.

« Because of road network development, culverts are small crossings which are abundant in salmon rivers watersheds.  Knowing whether the species can overcome them is a crucial issue in conservation, in particular for the distribution of fish in their early stage of life »

It should be emphasized that the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation (ASCF) was an essential partner for the completion of this major project. In addition, Rosemarie had the opportunity to do an internship at ASCF headquarters in Fredericton during the winter of 2017 under this Mitacs Accélération program. This spring, Rosemarie will continue to work for the conservation of Atlantic salmon as a project manager with the team of la Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique (FQSA).