New calculation of the productivity potential of Québec salmon rivers

The project is based on recent geomatics developments (remote sensing and GIS) and habitat modeling to recalculate the production potential of salmon rivers established by Picard et Caron (1999). A semi-automated habitat mapping will be developed based on aerial photos recently captured by the Department of Natural Resources for the southern part of Quebec (resolution 20-30cm). Hydromorphological facies will be classified based on Malavoi Souchon typology (2002), and preference clues for these facies for spawning, feeding (fry and parr) and refuge will be developed based on historical data obtained from electro-fishing and redd counts. The quantity of favorable habitat which will be calculated for each river, weighted by the water temperature (growth potential), will be linked to smolt production and salmon spawner data in order to identify a predictive relation with the rivers potential production.

Contact: Normand Bergeron, 418-654-3703, normand.bergeron@ete.inrs.ca