Salmonid counting fence on Parker’s river Newfoundland and Labrador, year 2

Parker’s is home to NL’s southernmost anadromous population of char, salmon, and Brook trout. These salmonids are subject to cumulative stressors (fishing, climate change, and habitat degradation). The char population reached critical levels by 2007, resulting in the formation of the Save Our Char Committee: an initiative to monitor/preserve char, and salmon locally. A survey was conducted in 2009 and found that local fishers supported the listing of Parker’s char as a species-at-risk. Citizens recently highlighted new threats that have emerged for this riverscape: salmonids have suffered die-offs at the river mouth. An assessment was preformed, and restoration project executed in Fall 2021. DFO has ongoing community-based monitoring plans in this system including temperature and environmental DNA monitoring. A counting fence is needed to understand the current status of Parker’s salmonid populations. One was funded in 2021, however a high-water event affected the accuracy of the final count.

Contact:

Christopher Mitchelmore

cmitchelmore@nf.aibn.com

709 454 3484