Medway River Salmon Association volunteers are helping study and tag Atlantic salmon Kelts this month for ongoing scientific research both along the river and into the ocean. Shown, from left are members Doug Lohnes and John Whitelaw. Mark Roberts Photo
Medway River association helps locally and globally
With rods and reels in hand, Medway River Salmon Association volunteers are embarking on an effort to help the Atlantic salmon population as part of a huge international scientific research effort.
The association is only slightly more than a year old but already has over 130 members. Association secretary, John Whitelaw says, in summation, “Our goal is to do our part as a volunteer association.”
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a partner, gave 32 members special catch and release licenses to fish for Atlantic salmon Kelts, known locally as slinks, as well salmon tagged last year, to embark on another tagging program and gather scientific data.
Kelts are salmon that headed up river last spring and summer from the ocean to spawn and are once again returning to the Atlantic.
However, Whitelaw says, “A percentage of them don’t make it because they are so weak. These fish are just starting to feed. They wouldn’t have fed since coming up river last year and they’ve shrunk to the point where they’re just a shadow of their former selves.”
Association Environment Committee member Doug Lohnes adds, “They don’t die like Pacific salmon after they spawn. That’s one good thing about the Atlantic salmon.”
Fifteen wild Kelts are being surgically implanted with hydroacoustic tags at the Mersey Biodiversity Facility in Milton; receivers strategically placed along the river to the Port Medway estuary will pick up the signals.
Lohnes says, “Each tag emits an unique frequency so you get a pretty good idea of what happens with each individual fish.”
Both men said more information is needed about why so many salmon fail to return to the river. Whitelaw asks, “Are we losing them in the river or out in the ocean?”
Receivers are also being installed in increasingly larger numbers along the coast of Nova Scotia as part of a Dalhousie University-led Ocean Tracking Network in this region. The Ocean Tracking Network is being established globally through various, mostly scientific partners and will cover subjects as wide ranging as climate change and currents to fish species and migration patterns. Even polar bears are being implanted.
Association members are also hoping to catch fish tagged last year and are keeping detailed records of their findings, the second part of the mission.
Lohnes says, “In the future, we’d like to get a benchmark of the river, the number of fish returning on a consistent basis.”
This could also help determine when and if the river can open for angling. Whitelaw adds this could have huge economic benefits through spin-offs, such as guiding and lodges.
“Our number one goal is the health of the river and return of the salmon. But with helping the river out, the economy would benefit as well.”
The 32 specially licensed fishermen are trained to not harm the salmon and use single un-barbed hooks.
The salmon that have been caught already range in size from 20 to 32 inches, says Lohnes, “so they’re good sized fish.” Most Atlantic salmon don’t surpass 39 inches.
They hope to access funding through their partners, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for an ongoing tagging programming.
They also hope in the long-term to establish a liming program to reduce the acidity of the river caused by acid rain.
The West River Sheet Harbour watershed has seen great improvement in survival rates since a pilot liming project was established in 2002. The process is expensive, however.
