Letting rivers run wild: Removing fish passage barriers in two Inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) rivers

ACAP Saint John has been working on habitat restoration initiatives over the past three years within seven iBoF salmon rivers from Mispec to St. Martin’s, with management plans created for each river. Although that was a great achievement, ACAP would like to focus on the action items identified in these plans and further investigate tributaries to help restore and protect endangered iBoF populations.
In 2020, iBoF salmon were detected in the Irish and Black Rivers using eDNA analysis. Threats to Atlantic salmon in these watersheds include natural barriers to fish passage (i.e., debris jams, beaver dams) and bank erosion. This project will focus on priority restoration actions from ACAP’s recent management plans for these watersheds, which will involve the removal and modification of fish passage barriers as well as improvement of riparian areas. Surveys of salmon presence, abundance, and genetic identity will also be conducted.

Contact: Roxanne MacKinnon, rosanne@acapsj.org, 506 652 2227