I mourn the decline of Atlantic salmon. I need politicians who get what's at stake 

Roger Jenkins · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

This First Person file is the acquisition of Roger Jenkins, who lives successful Storeytown, N.B. For much accusation astir CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. 

In the summertime of 1962, I was allowed to tag on with my begetter connected his job. He had been hired by a section relation done the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to haul big salmon whose way had been blocked by a dam connected the Saint John River. 

Our task was to scoop the salmon from a cage connected the Beechwood Dam utilizing a manus nett onto the backmost of a five-tonne motortruck fitted with a h2o vessel and transport them 50 kilometres upriver to Arthurette, N.B., connected the Tobique River. We besides had to deposit immoderate lamprey (a predator of the salmon) that we recovered into a 170-litre drum connected the platform of the dam.  

Why did we walk each summertime doing this?  A emblematic Atlantic salmon tin leap about three metres high. So the installation of a hydroelectric dam 18 metres precocious connected the St. John River presented an impassable obstruction.  

Trucking the salmon became the lone enactment to guarantee this cardinal taxon returned to its spawning grounds. Returning to the water aft spawning besides presented an further obstacle arsenic the lone mode backmost to the water was implicit the dam spillway oregon done the turbine. Think of it similar putting your goldfish successful a blender for a fewer seconds.  

When I look back, I can't assistance but deliberation of conscionable however absurd the full concern was to enactment the aboriginal of the taxon successful the spot of a 10-year-old lad and a middle-aged antheral with lone Grade 3 education.  

Now, immoderate 60 years later, I spot my aged person is successful occupation again. That's wherefore successful this national election, the absorption of Atlantic salmon is my ballot container issue.  

I was calved adjacent the Tobique River successful the aboriginal 1950s and raised successful the tiny assemblage of Riley Brook, N.B.  

We had moving h2o successful the location astatine the clip but nary toilet until I was successful my teens. Life was elemental successful those days and moving crossed the roadworthy to drawback a salmon for supper was a mean occurrence. My archetypal summertime occupation was astatine a sportfishing lodge. One of the lodge guests, an enforcement with a large assets company, felt my method skills could beryllium amended served successful the concern divisions of the company.  

I became an technologist and yet a absorption executive, but I continued to food arsenic a hobby. Fishing was besides a networking tool. We'd instrumentality clients up to salmon lodges. I retrieve a clip erstwhile I could spell retired and easy travel backmost with the allowable bounds connected immoderate fixed day. 

Now, arsenic a retiree, I unrecorded beside the Miramichi River successful Storeytown, N.B., but I nary longer food salmon. It's not amusive to spell retired and basal for hours and drawback nothing.  

WATCH | Shockingly fewer Atlantic salmon successful N.B. rivers, says this biologist:

The past clip I hooked and landed an big pistillate salmon afloat of eggs, it made maine consciousness similar a hypocrite. I had been alert for immoderate clip that salmon returns to the Miramichi were successful diminution and I felt I had conscionable fto the full taxon down by jeopardizing her beingness and the aboriginal of thousands of her offspring. In my country of New Brunswick, the Atlantic salmon is listed arsenic a taxon of peculiar concern. It's endangered successful different parts of the province. 

As I cautiously removed the hook and released her, I realized astatine that infinitesimal successful a tiny mode I erstwhile again held the aboriginal of the taxon successful my hands. 

Salmon returns successful the Miramichi River person been connected a dramatic diminution for immoderate clip and have accelerated dramatically since 2010. This time, the obstruction is not carnal successful the signifier of dams and is alternatively bureaucratic.  

The Miramichi Salmon Association, nether the absorption of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, manages and maintains a salmon obstruction connected the Dungarvon River. To support them from poaching, big salmon are held betwixt 2 barriers successful the stream during the summertime months and released to proceed up the stream to spawn successful the fall.  

I unrecorded adjacent capable to 1 specified presumption and tin easy sojourn respective times during the summertime utilizing my ATV. Each travel has near maine saddened and much discouraged. Under DFO management, the yearly number of big salmon returning to the obstruction has steadily declined from 1,039 food successful 2011 to a specified 51 successful 2024. 

At the aforesaid time, DFO reports that due to the fact that of its palmy absorption plan, populations of the striped bass — which devour Atlantic salmon smolt — person rebounded successful the aforesaid stream strategy from respective 1000 successful 2010 to an estimated 500,000-plus food successful 2024. Both fish taxon are autochthonal to the region, but 1 is being protected astatine the disbursal of the other.  

This misguided attack of managing and promoting a predator taxon astatine the disbursal of a prey taxon is the aforesaid arsenic releasing wolves into our bluish forests and letting the caribou benignant it retired for themselves. I can't ideate we'd bash that to either iconic species, truthful wherefore should the Atlantic salmon merit immoderate less?  

To reason the Atlantic salmon is conscionable different food is the aforesaid arsenic suggesting the monarch butterfly is conscionable different bug. Its unsocial beingness cycles marque it an biology messenger — a canary successful a ember excavation — for the wellness of our oceans and rivers and we should beryllium paying much attention.  

For villages, tourer operators, guides, birds, Indigenous communities and the environment, the salmon correspond a mode of beingness that cannot beryllium easy replaced by immoderate different species. It represents nutrient for galore radical and wages for others.  

And, for me, losing this peculiar food is similar losing an aged friend. The Atlantic salmon epitomizes what it means for maine to beryllium a arrogant Maritimer. 

The New Brunswick authorities has called on the national authorities to instrumentality contiguous enactment connected the province's historically debased salmon population. Too often, it feels similar we person politicians who person small appreciation oregon knowing of what's astatine stake. 

I person yet to see any national enactment enactment unneurotic a factual program for however they privation to negociate Canada's fisheries and the implications volition ripple crossed Atlantic Canada.  

During his sojourn to Newfoundland and Labrador aboriginal successful the campaign, national Liberal Leader Mark Carney's archetypal halt successful St. John's was met with aggravated protesters who were upset with cuts to crab quotas disconnected the northeast seashore of Newfoundland. They said his enactment needs to bash better. 

In Nova Scotia, the lobster manufacture is simply a cornerstone industry, and a large run issue. Ottawa has struggled to fulfill some commercialized fishermen and Mi'kmaw communities that are asserting their pact close to food for a mean livelihood. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the opening of the bluish cod commercialized fishery was described arsenic a political decision. 

The Atlantic salmon is hardly surviving and is but 1 achy reminder of however Ottawa needs to bash amended by Atlantic Canadians. 

I anticipation earlier it's excessively late, we tin elite we tin elite a authorities that ensures its fisheries curate is simply a knowledgeable idiosyncratic who creates a workable program to support the Atlantic salmon. Then I volition consciousness overmuch amended astir my vote.     

What's the 1 contented that matters the astir to you successful this national election? CBC News volition people a scope of perspectives from voters who stock the idiosyncratic acquisition shaping their prime astatine the ballot box. Read much First Person columns related to the predetermination here.