Miawpukek Aquaculture Escapee Monitoring

Miawpukek First Nation (MFN) is proposing to sample all salmon that enter Little River to determine if they are of aquaculture origin or are carrying any disease.  A counting fence will be place in Little River. All fish migrating upstream will be enumerated and identified. All salmon will be scale sampled and fin clipped. All salmon of aquaculture origin will be immediately removed from the system and sent away for further analysis.  Wild salmon will be fin clipped, tagged, and put in a holding pool. The fin clip and scales will be sent off for further analysis to verify our initial scale readings and the presence of pathogens. If the results reveal that these salmon are of aquaculture origin or diseased, tagging will enable us to remove these salmon from the pool for further analysis. The remaining held salmon will be used by MFN as part of its continued efforts to enhance the river.

Contact: Ross Hinks, 709-882-3002, rhinks@mfngov.ca