A salmon conservation project that began over 25 years ago is seeing big returns -- quite literally -- as Fundy Salmon Recovery (FSR) and its many partners work to restore an endangered salmon population from the upper Bay of Fundy. For the last 10 years, the Village of Grand Manan has been a partner, through a unique salmon farm site at Dark Harbour, and on January 28 the village hosted a presentation by project representatives, including resource conservation manager Corey Clarke and ecologist John Whitelaw, both from Parks Canada, and Tim Robinson, manager of Fort Folly Habitat Recovery (FFHR), an Indigenous conservation program near Dorchester.
      A live gene bank hatchery was established to try to rescue this population, which was designated as endangered in 2001. Since then FFHR has worked on the Big Salmon, Pollett and Little rivers, Petitcodiac and its tributaries and the Upper Salmon and Point Wolfe rivers in Fundy National Park. They are now partners in FSR, a unique collaboration of First Nations, industry, academia, provincial and federal governments.
      While once there might have been 40,000 Atlantic salmon in 40 rivers, numbers fell until there were almost none in the early 1990s -- "not countable numbers," Clarke said.
      Clarke said there are 16 genetically different Atlantic salmon populations. The endangered one is found in the inner Bay of Fundy, from Saint John around to the Minas Basin. Aside from genetic differences, the Fundy salmon act a little differently, he added. While most Atlantic salmon populations may migrate near Greenland and the Labrador Sea, the Fundy fish only go as far as the Gulf of Maine.
      Clarke said they would catch a few ocean bound smolts for a population sample, then mate them in the hatchery according to their genetic families. The released smolts weren't returning. They then tried releasing different ages and found smolts produced by adult releases that spawned naturally were more successful. The less time a young salmon spends in a hatchery, the better it will do in the wild. However, Clarke points out, even 100 fish are a lot to grow to adulthood in a concrete pond. In 2007-2008 they sought a partnership with the aquaculture industry. Cooke Aquaculture and Admiral Fish Farms agreed, and the project's next chapter began on the side of an active Deer Island aquaculture site.
      In 2011 several hundred fish were released. Dozens returned in 2012, compared to "one or zero" in previous years. A return of 40 fish "was like 'stop the presses!'" Clarke said. They asked Cooke for more scale with a dedicated farm. The Dark Harbour site wasn't active, so they moved there and the Village of Grand Manan became a partner.
      Smolts are collected in the rivers in the spring and screened. Some go to be reared at the Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility's live gene bank. Others are taken to Dark Harbour and grown for a couple of years, then trucked back to the rivers for release. This past year, 336 Pollett River smolts went to Grand Manan and 116 Big Salmon River smolts went to Mactaquac. In the fall, over 1,300 Dark Harbour adults were released into the Pollett. Fish may be released by hand or from tanks lifted in by helicopter to crews on the rivers. Samples are taken, fish are measured and each gets a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag with a unique code and an external colour-coded tag indicating the year. The microchip PIT tag is detected when it passes an antenna. Among the program's "firsts" is the largest swim through PIT array in the world. Other monitoring includes juvenile density surveys; adult counts through snorkel surveys, nets or angling; and smolt counts using nets or a "smolt wheel" -- a rotary screw trap. Battery powered tags are also used; the Bay of Fundy contains a grid of receivers and a "curtain" of them across the lower part.
      Return rates have increased, and the quality of fish has improved. Whitelaw said salmon may return to spawn perhaps six or seven times. In a survey of redds -- salmon nests -- in 2024, 461 were found in the Pollett River, up from 42 and four in the previous two years. Whitelaw and Clarke said seals and sharks are likely predators, and Clarke noted that 95% of smolts die in the wild. "Running salmon through the environment" is a way to evaluate that environment, he said.
      Migratory fish returning from the sea bring marine nutrients that are deposited in freshwater rivers, either through sloughing off or when the fish die. These nutrients are a "fuel" that increases primary production.
      The returning salmon have fueled cultural renewal as well. Centuries old practices have been revived, including salmon blessings and reconnection to the rivers by children, elders and communities. Clarke said Fort Folly continues to be a leader in taking responsibility for salmon in their territory and providing opportunities for youth and for year-round employment.
      The Dark Harbour site is drawing worldwide attention, and they have received calls from researchers in other countries interested in using the model for their own populations. Clarke said, "Dark Harbour is the only salmon farm in the world dedicated to growing wild Atlantic salmon for conservation. It's something pretty special."
      To learn more, visit ffhr.ca and www.fundysalmonrecovery.com.