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First Nations and Atlantic Salmon
EDITORIAL
by J.W. Bud Bird MSA President
Throughout Canada's history, the First Nations of this country have fished for Atlantic salmon as a staple
resource for food and ceremonial purposes. In recent years, the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that through lawful
treaties signed more than two centuries ago these salmon fishing rights have been preserved, subject to the fundamental priority
for conservation of the species. The Government of Canada, through its Department of Fisheries and Oceans, retains the responsibility
and the authority to monitor and regulate conservation requirements.
The first Supreme Court ruling, the Sparrow Decision, confirmed
aboriginal rights to fish for food and ceremonial purposes, and subsequently DFO established allocations for Atlantic salmon
harvests by each First Nation to meet these needs. The size of those allocations varies from Band to Band and are generally
set as part of an overall fisheries management agreement with each Band. In some cases, these allocations appear to be excessive
to the reasonable needs of the Band for food and ceremonial purposes. Frequently, they are also well beyond the capability
of the river to produce that many fish in a conservation context. After more than ten years of application since the Sparrow
Decision, it would now seem a good time to review those allocations and to revise them to suit the reality of current circumstances.
The second Supreme Court ruling, the Marshall Decision,
does not primarily pertain to Atlantic salmon but is of far broader application to all fishing and hunting species. Subject
also to broader regulations than just conservation, it confirms rights of First Nations in the Maritimes Provinces to harvest
these resources, and to trade or sell them in a commercial context in order to help provide a moderate standard of living
to Native communities.
The initial implementation of the Marshall Decision has
been mainly in ocean waters with respect to the lobster and crab fisheries, and has resulted in some serious conflicts as
efforts have been made by DFO to regulate the balance between conservation and all who claim the right to fish for these species,
both Natives and non-Natives alike. The Supreme Court has already issued one unprecedented clarification to this ruling, and
it seems likely that further directions from that Court will be required before the Marshall Decision can be effectively implemented
in a rational and responsible manner by all concerned.
With respect to the very scarce and still diminishing wild
Atlantic salmon resource in the Miramichi watershed, it should be dramatically evident that there is no basis for application
of the Marshall Decision, because the resource will not support a commercial harvest of any kind! In fact, over the past two
decades there have been worldwide efforts to eliminate commercial fishing for wild Atlantic salmon, and such a ban has now
been in effect throughout the Maritimes and Newfoundland for many years. The costs of those conservation measures have been
extremely high as governments bought out commercial fishing licenses, and yet the stocks of wild Atlantic salmon have continued
to decline. Surely therefore, any reasonable conservation program would be compelled to recognize that the Marshall Decision
cannot be applied to commodity harvests of wild Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi or any other New Brunswick river.
The one remaining area where the wild Atlantic salmon offers
an economic potential for both Natives and non-Natives is in the recreational fishery, where catch-and-release programs coupled
with strict daily and season harvest limits can still be practiced within safe conservation bounds. Several First Nations
have for many years found stable employment for members of their communities in existing outfitting operations, and some Bands
have even considered going into this business at their own locations. So long as the same conservation rules and regulations
pertain to all, there should be no concerns about fair competition between Natives and non-Natives for the recreational potential
of wild Atlantic salmon.
A joint approach to community watershed management is the
key. For example, through the existence of the Miramichi Watershed Management Committee, of which all three First Nations
on the Miramichi hold full-fledged status as voting members, there already exists an active forum where competition and collaboration
can effectively be placed in the conservation context. In the final analysis, it will only be through close consultation by
all concerned with wild Atlantic salmon that we shall be able to save this wonderful species. That consultation can best take
place through the process of watershed management, river by river, community by community, Band by Band.
There is one powerful conservation move that all can support
immediately - the total elimination of gill nets as an instrument for killing wild Atlantic salmon. The reality is that gill
nets always kill the fish, but trapnets do not! There is no downside for any First Nation in banning gill nets, and some Bands
have ceased using them already. Trapnets can be used even more effectively to harvest food fishery allocations, and to do
so in the whole community interest. Most importantly of all, trapnets harvest wild Atlantic salmon alive, so choices can be
made to release the large spawning females as a continuing investment in the potential abundance of future salmon stocks.
We should act now, together, calling upon the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to eliminate, with one stroke of his pen, the
use of killer gill nets forever!
Grilse - Will They Ever Be Large Salmon?
Mark Hambrook MSA President Man has been studying
the Atlantic salmon for centuries, and much information has been gathered to understand the complexities of its life cycle.
While many traits are similar throughout the salmon's range, populations have adapted to the environment of the particular
river and ocean they occupy, and to the activities of man. One of the more visible adaptations is the size of the adults returning
to their home streams, some rivers mostly grilse, and others with many large salmon. A less visible adaptation is the age
at which smolts enter the ocean, with some rivers producing smolts in only one year while others may take up to five years,
or longer.
In the Miramichi River, a salmon redd will contain eggs
from a single female that may have been fertilized by more than one male. From this cluster of eggs, those that survive will
smoltify in two or three years. Some of the males may even become sexually mature as parr, before smoltification, and could
successfully fertilize a portion of a female salmon's eggs. Once the smolt stage has been reached and the fish go to the ocean,
most of the males will return as grilse one year later, and most of the females will return as salmon two years later.
The question is as old as the ages among anglers - what
is a grilse? What role does it play? To help answer these questions, we must define the terms grilse and salmon. The authoritative
document for this purpose is a report called "Salmonid Terminology" written by I.R.H. Allan and J.A. Ritter. While the definition
is lengthy, the key words can be summarized as follows:
"It is suggested that the term salmon should be used to
designate all fish after the post-smolt stage. Age should be defined by the number of winters elapsing since the fish entered
the sea as a smolt.
The colloquial term grilse, representing a salmon which
has first matured after one sea-winter, is strongly entrenched in common use and in the literature. However, this term is
a source of inaccuracy, as it is frequently applied to salmon within an arbitrary length or weight range which may include
fish of different sea-ages. Salmon of two or more sea-winters, as a group, should be referred to as multi-sea-winter salmon.
Salmon of any age-class which are maturing for the first
time are described as maiden salmon. Salmon of any age-class which are maturing for a second or subsequent time are referred
to as previous spawners.
It is suggested, therefore, that previous spawning fish
be categorized according to their designation of first spawning. Thus, a fish which spawned initially as a one-sea-winter
salmon (grilse) remains a one-sea-winter salmon (grilse) throughout its subsequent history and is, accordingly, designated
as a previous spawning one-sea-winter salmon (previous spawning grilse)."
To put these definitions simply, a grilse is a salmon that
returns to spawn for the first time after spending only one winter at sea and, although it may survive to grow much larger
and spawn again, it will always be referred to as a grilse, or more accurately a previous spawning grilse. The definition
of a salmon is one that returns to spawn for the first time after spending two or more winters at sea, and will continue to
be called a salmon during its subsequent life history.
The composition of the salmon run in the Miramichi River
is a mixture of first run grilse and salmon, and an ever growing number of repeat spawners originating from both grilse and
salmon. The grilse component of the run is comprised of 80% or more males, and the salmon run is comprised of 90% females.
With respect to repeat spawners, which average 25% of the larger fish in the run, approximately half of the fish returning
are previous spawning grilse and are predominately males.
In an article from the Atlantic Salmon Journal, The Case
for Releasing Grilse, by Gary Atkinson and Dave Moore, it is estimated that 4.5% of grilse in the Miramichi will survive to
spawn a second time and 11% of salmon will do the same. In a typical year, there would be more than twice the number of grilse
as salmon in the Miramichi. To put this in numerical perspective, assuming that the normal spawning target is being achieved,
there would be approximately 45,000 grilse and 18,000 salmon. Consequently, if these return percentages are exactly correct,
there will be 2,025 grilse and 1,980 salmon to return again as previous spawners.
When the 2,025 previous spawning grilse return they will
average about seven pounds, and if they return another year will at least double to fourteen pounds. If they come to the river
for a fourth time or more, these previous spawning grilse will have become the large trophy fish of most anglers' dreams.
When the 1,980 previous spawning salmon come back for the second time they will average almost fourteen pounds, and if they
come a third time will be close to nineteen pounds. All of these estimates pertain to wild Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi
watershed; other rivers will have their own unique and differing characteristics of sizes and returns.
Therefore, the technical answer to the question - will
grilse ever be large salmon? - is NO! However, previous spawning grilse can grow to a size that will rival most salmon in
the river depending upon the number of years they return. Scientifically speaking, by definition grilse are not a separate
species, but all fish carry the genetic code that gets passed down to their offspring, so the genetic code in a grilse may
influence some of its offspring to return as grilse. To put a unique final twist to this question about grilse and salmon,
the odds are that most spawning activity in the Miramichi River occurs between a female salmon and a male grilse, with both
fish frequently the same large size!
Director's Profile- George S. Mumford
For MSA Director George Mumford, fishing on the Miramichi is a family affair. In 1912, his grandfather brought his father
to this river, and in 1941 George and his brother Bob accompanied their father and mother to Camp Adams on the Northwest Miramichi,
which would be the first of many such excursions. Later trips expanded the family tradition, including brother Jim, and in
the late 1960's George and his wife Nancy introduced their two daughters and two sons to the Miramichi. Subsequent years allowed
George and Nancy, who have been married for 51 years, the pleasure of having their children and grandchildren on the river,
representing the fifth generation of Mumfords to be there.
Following graduation from Harvard University, George earned
a Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Virginia in 1955. In the fall of that year, he took a position in the mathematics
department of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he has spent his entire career teaching a variety of mathematics
and astronomy courses, as well as conducting research on novae (explosive stars). In addition, he spent several years in academic
administration serving as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts for a decade; and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
for another five years. Now in retirement, he holds the honour of Professor Emeritus of Astronomy.
It does not take much encouraging to engage George in a
discussion about the Miramichi. He loves to reflect his sixty years on the river, and continues to marvel at the resiliency
of the fish that brings him to these waters time and time again. In 1953, he sadly recalls the spraying of the forest with
DDT to kill off the spruce budworm, when that pesticide found its way into the river killing a great number of parr. He remembers
the contamination of the river with lead and zinc sulfides, and that seepage turned back major runs of fish in the 1960's.
He has seen grilse trying to cool off on hot days in recent years by burrowing into the river bank. Not as many fish bear
net marks as in former years, but gill nets remain another hurdle to overcome. Yet, he marvels, faced with all these difficulties
still the fish return.
Residing just outside Boston on 14 acres of field and wood
lands, most days will find George on his tractor mowing, cutting brush, or adding to the fire wood supply. He and Nancy travel
quite extensively, and balance a busy schedule between visiting with nearby grandchildren and playing bridge. George has a
couple of writing projects under way; one delves into certain aspects of the history of astronomy, the other is about his
family's century on the Miramichi, (sure to be a great read!).
With his love for the Atlantic salmon and the Miramichi
River, and his commitment to conservation of these resources, Dr. George Mumford brings great knowledge and experience to
his role as a Director. The MSA is proud to express its respect and appreciation for his service and support.
WINSTON HUNTER OF FREDERICTON
In this first of a regular series of profiles, the MSA is proud
to recognize the important work of those men and women who are professional salmon guides. They stand in the front line of
protection and conservation.
Being a salmon fishing guide on the world famous Miramichi River
for the past several years has been a great experience for Winston Hunter. "It has taught me respect, patience and appreciation
for the guests, the river, the salmon and the weather", he states.
Having guided at a number of fishing lodges - Rocky Bend, Clearwater,
McKeil, Moose Call and Pond's Resort - has allowed Winston to meet and fish with anglers from all over the world. He has found
each guiding experience to be unique, and he is continually learning and developing his expertise.
As a seasoned guide, Winston participated in the first Certified
Guides Course to be hosted by the MSA. This is an instructional program, taught by experienced guides and outfitters, which
emphasizes the values of a guide's services. It offers an opportunity for participants to develop the highest standards in
the practice of their profession. The course focuses on public relations; rules and regulations; fly tying and fly casting;
rigging reels, lines and leaders; poling a canoe, CPR/first aid; and proper catch-and-release techniques. Most importantly
of all, it teaches guides how to best host and serve their clients.
"The MSA program not only offers guides an opportunity to refresh
old learning and to gain new knowledge about the practice of their profession, says Winston Hunter," it also allows those
guides to spend time with each other in a relaxed atmosphere, hearing about their experiences and sharing special success
stories."
Even the most experienced of anglers are pleased to have Winston
as their guide. In this photo with Winston is fisherman Bill Nelson (left) from the State of Washington, who has traveled
all over the world to pursue his passion for fishing. He is regularly drawn to his favourite river, the Main Southwest Miramichi
and the chance to "share a line" with Winston Hunter as his guide.
THE MIRAMICHI GENERAL STORE
(Excerpts from Previous Articles by Daily Gleaner and
Miramichi Headwaters)A landmark on the road to Miramichi,
and a must to visit while near Boiestown, is McCloskey's General Store. To enter is like stepping into a time long ago, when
life was more simple, and people gathered in the friendly confines of the local store to do their shopping and meet their
neighbors. For more than a century, it has served both the residents of Boiestown and many travellers. Yet despite modern
trends in shopping facilities, the old store has stood the test of time. McCloskey's is one of the very few original general
stores to survive in New Brunswick.
The business started in 1819 when, at the age of 13, Patrick McCloskey
came to New Brunswick from Ireland. The young boy worked as a peddler carrying a backpack and travelling the Miramichi area,
and as far north as Bathurst. He later purchased a horse and wagon and had a large chest to hold his wares. That chest is
now housed at the Central New Brunswick Woodmen's Museum, where the MSA's Boiestown office is also located.
Patrick McCloskey later carried on his business in a small store
attached to his house until his death in 1866. At that time, his widow Sarah continued the business with their son William,
who later took over the business until his death in 1913. In turn, his son, Hedleigh ran the store as later did his own sons
Darrell and Vincent. After the death of his father, Darrell and his wife Hazel inherited the business and introduced the fifth
generation of McCloskeys to the business when his son Brian started to work there.
When the store attached to Patrick's house became too small, the
business was moved to a larger building next door in 1875. In 1905, it was moved to the present location but this building
burnt and in 1952 the fourth and present building was built.
The store has a huge and varied inventory. For example, some of
the old clothing remaining in stock is purchased by theatre companies for use in plays. A recent order was for washboards
and washtubs, purchased and sent to Sarajevo. Over many decades it has been a supply source for fishing and hunting supplies.
"If McCloskey's doesn't have what a customer is looking for, they will order it", says one customer. "They will try and get
it for you. I can remember when in days past they even sold caskets".
With four children and nine grandchildren, Darrell and Hazel anticipate
there could be more than one new generation around to own and operate this historic general store on the Miramichi.
MSA's Boston dinner is set
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2001
This event in the Boston area is always a welcome winter break
and 2001 will be no exception. Marking the 47th such milestone, the dinner and symposium will again take place at the Burlington
Marriott on Saturday, February 10th, 2001. The MSA will be honoured on this forthcoming occasion to pay tribute to a long-time
Director and conservation advocate, Ted Ferree, who has devoted endless hours and boundless energy in working for salmon conservation
over the past five decades! It is way overdue that we finally take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank Ted
for the expertise, time, money, and effort he has contributed over so many years.
The dinner evening will commence at 5:30 PM, with the traditional
Silent Auction to be held during a warm reception. Please bear in mind that the dinner committee will gratefully accept donations
of any new or used items for the auction. Remember, your unwanted fishing gear may be another person's treasure! A superb
dinner will follow at 7:30 PM., when guests can also look forward to Ted Ferree's presentation.
Please reserve now by calling MSA(U.S.) Inc. in Boston at 617-426-1196
or e-mailing jnewell@seawardmgmt.com; or the Fredericton office at 506-457-2220, e-mail jbmsa@nbnet.nb.ca
From the Log at Camp Adams- The Year 1892!
A Look Back By George Mumford
Named after Michael Adams, Surveyor-General of New Brunswick
from 1878 to 1882, Camp Adams has been in existence for more than a century. In the early days, anglers from as near as Newcastle
and as far as Boston and New York came to this stretch of the Northwest Miramichi, some 20 miles from the hamlet of Wayerton.
Today, the waters are still fished by anglers from both sides of the border as members or guests of of the Miramichi Fish
and Game Club.
For most of Camp Adam's history, a record has been kept
of the activities there. The entries in the log book are quite variable. Sometimes only the members of the parties and their
catches are listed; at other times, there is more detail. The opening entry is for Sunday, June 19, 1892, and there was only
brief passing consideration of whether or not there should be fishing on that day.
Sunday morning was more than a Sabbath morn at our home.
We agreed Master Clay (Michael's son) should transgress the Divine Law - he being the youngest - and as justification we were
made aware by instruction that some American visitors would arrive during the afternoon. Mr. Russell (who drove the buck board)
and visitors arrived at 4:30. Clay Adams caught a salmon and a trout. Mr. C.P. Baker of Boston lost a salmon that evening.
June 20 - The whole group did some serious fishing. Five
salmon were landed but the unfortunate Mr. Joseph Guild (of Boston) lost two.
June 21 - Then a black eye for the camp today - not a salmon.
Mr. Baker caught some very fine trout weighing over three pounds each. Very cold weather but no record.
June 22 - Disappointment at camp today. Our visitors failed
to catch a salmon though Mr. Guild caught a number of trout, among them one weighing five pounds, the largest the writer has
seen caught by fly. Clay also caught some beauties. The day's record indicates one salmon taken by Mr. Adams and one lost
by Mr. Baker.
June 23 - Was a beautiful day, yet no luck.
June 24 - Was a busy day. Our visitors rose early and are
preparing for their trip down river. Mr. James Fish (a land surveyor from Newcastle) arrived with George Russell driver about
one o'clock in the afternoon with James, Bill and Jack Waye with canoes.
I pity my friend Guild, said Mr. Fish. He hooked
eight salmon and only succeeded in landing one. He is somewhat disgusted with himself and trout fishing is only a boy's pleasure.
A
later entry - a footnote - states that, Messrs. Guild and Baker on their way down river caught two salmon, four grilse, and
an additional fifteen trout.
June 25 - The log for this date notes that Grover Cleveland
was nominated on the first ballot. The Democratic Party's convention to nominate a candidate for the U.S. Presidency was held
that year in Chicago and ended on June 23rd. Likely the first ballot was a day earlier, so the news reached the Camp in about
three days. Not bad for those days before the forest phone line and all sorts of improvements in communications.
June 30 - The party then in camp was aroused early. At
5 AM, Master Clay and Bob Armstrong, whose store in Newcastle provided supplies, set forth in a catamaran down river some
four miles with the view of fishing their way back to camp. Shall give you the result of our trip on our return this evening,
wrote one of the intrepid explorers.
At the starting point, the river is relatively wide and
shallow and the valley moderately broad. Some two to three miles further down, the hills draw in, the river narrows, the water
flows more rapidly as a rocky gorge is approached. People still at times canoe this stretch but usually earlier in the year
when the water is considerably higher.
The trip didn't "pan out" worth a "d_ _ n"! In the first
place, after going about 150 yards below the camp, we discovered that our ship was drawing too much water so had to be abandoned.
Guides Ned Waye and Archie Stewart returned for bark canoe. Once more we got underway and after about half a mile the canoe
was leaking so badly that she had to be hauled up. So there was nothing left for us to but walk - and walk we did. The water
was very dirty, consequently we never saw a salmon, much to our disappointment. We felt sure of some grilse at all events.
But no catch is recorded in the log.
July 1 - Bob Armstrong took two salmon and Master Clay
a grilse.
July 2 - Damon Waye arrived this evening at 7:00. He informed
us that Mr. Adams and two American gentlemen will be here tomorrow. Such a rainstorm - we can pity our friends who are coming
in. It is something terrible, blinding sheets of rain. Messrs. Skilling and Lange of Boston with Mr. Adams arrived about 5:00
PM. They could be pitied - .drenched to the skin.
The weather improved, as did the fishing. Messrs. Skilling
and Lange enjoyed their stay and left the first of a multitude of thank you notes:
The entry for July 29th records a season total of 38 salmon
caught and 14 lost; 183 grilse taken and 43 lost.
This has been an off year as regards salmon, but the trout
and grilse have made up, to a certain extent of the poor sport with the salmon. Everything is packed, writes Bob Armstrong,
for an early start in the morning. Before closing our diary for the season 1892, I think it would be in place to mention the
fact that our friends Lawlor and Grundy (who had left the Camp on July 19th, have the honour of breaking all previous records
from the Camp to the settlement, having made the trip from Camp to John Waye's in the remarkably quick time of three house
and thirty-two minutes - including a stay at Stony Brook (some 10 miles down the river from Camp Adams) of 15 minutes. Beat
that Boys!
One can only speculate as to how this was accomplished.
Some twenty years later, my father would leave the Waye homestead about 7 AM and arrive via foot and wagon at Stony Brook
in time for a latish lunch, so the trip that far, to about the halfway point, normally required five or six hours over the
tote road. Thus, walking is out. The local farms probably had no riding horses, so I suspect that Messrs. Lawlor and Grundy
made the whole excursion by canoe. Canoes were widely used in those days. Weld and Hunnewell left Camp that way as did other
parties. But it was still quite a feat to make the river trip in that short period of time.
The river drops some 600 to 700 feet between Camp Adams
and the settlement, an average of about 30 feet per mile. In the lower reaches it runs quite slowly, but above there are three
places where it narrows to a width of six feet in July and picks up speed as the water roars through the shoots at the Ledges,
the Dam, and the Falls above Stony. Doubtless Lawlor and Grundy ran a number of rapids but did they also run these? Maybe,
maybe not; some canoers a few years back portaged around these areas, but they were paddling. Bob Armstrong doesn't tell us
how Lawlor and Grundy managed to accomplish their feat. I suspect that they must have been pretty tired when they arrived
at the settlement, as they poled like mad through the last stretches.
The record was beaten, but not in Bob's lifetime. Today,
one whips through the woods on the Fraser-Burchill Road at speeds up to 45 miles per hour; it's about half an hour from the
Camp to the settlement. Bob Armstrong would be really surprised.
Final 200 salmon statistics
THE RESULTS ENCOURAGING
The Miramichi River Atlantic Salmon Science Workshop was held
in Doaktown on December 1, 2000. The purpose of the workshop was to allow research groups and others involved with salmon
on the Miramichi a forum with which to share their findings and ideas, the results to be incorporated into the Department
of Fisheries and Ocean's stock assessment report.
DFO salmon biologist for the Miramichi, Gerald Chaput, explained
how the number of salmon returning to the Miramichi is estimated. The trapnets used on the Miramichi to estimate the number
of fish returning are the DFO Millerton trapnet for the Southwest Branch, and the Red Bank First Nation trapnets for the Northwest
Branch.
The "mark and recapture" methodology is based on a known number
of tagged fish released downstream of a trapnet. The percentage of the tags captured at the trapnet provides the efficiency
of the trap. (For example, if 100 tagged fish were released and only five were recaptured in the trap, then the trap only
catches 5% of the fish passing by.)
When the trap efficiency is determined, then the total number of
fish returning can be calculated by knowing the number of unmarked fish in the trapnet. Depending on environmental factors,
trap efficiencies may change from year to year. Other factors can complicate this calculation; some fish will turn around
and travel up the opposite Branch from where they were captured.
All of these factors are considered in the final determination,
but the preliminary results indicate that there were sufficient large salmon returning in 2000 to meet the conservation requirements
for egg deposition, and there were double the number of grilse returning to satisfy spawning requirements (approximately 20,000
large salmon and 45,000 grilse). This is good news for the Miramichi, not only because spawning targets have been met, but
the precipitous decline in returning salmon stocks may have bottomed out. Perhaps now we will see a resurgence of large salmon
returning to the Miramichi.
Some of the headwater barrier fences did not have high numbers
of salmon and grilse this year, reflecting a shortage or delay of the June run of salmon entering the river. The MSA presented
its juvenile survey through electrofishing, which shows a decline in juvenile numbers from the past few years, but still above
the densities from the 1970's and 80's.
Outfitters reported one of the best angling seasons in a decade,
with late July and August being exceptionally good. Very few dead salmon were reported along the river this season, but there
were confirmed reports of furunculosis in seven of fifteen mortalities turned into the DFO Fish Health Lab. Thanks to a wet
July and August, and warm water conditions, this season experienced no closures.
The following counts from the Miramichi watershed are the final
figures for the 2000 runs up to the October closing dates shown for each counting station.
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