Inside DFO

Last week we saw that, although Guysborough receives only 1% of the economic benefit generated by Atlantic salmon angling in Nova Scotia, our federal DFO seems unwilling to manage salmon stocks and the fishery to the benefit of the people of Guysborough County.

We recall that, until decline started about 20 years ago, the St. Mary’s River’s Atlantic salmon sport fishery was a tremendous economic generator for our economy, much like the Margaree River’s fishery is today for the people of Inverness County. We’ve seen that tourism benefits occurring as a result of a well-managed Atlantic salmon fishery are very substantial.

During this period our DFO Scotia-Fundy Region’s budget was cut, limiting its ability to effectively deal with such issues (although DFO won’t admit this). Meanwhile our Nova Scotia Dept. of Fisheries & Aquaculture, Inland Fisheries Division has developed and acquired resources to deal with these same issues. But rather than utilize the province’s help, as DFO’s Gulf Region has, DFO Scotia-Fundy refuses to delegate responsibility. Why?

DFO Scotia-Fundy has built a fortress of excuses, and in future columns we’ll attempt to discuss each fortress block. But first we must look at the principles governing wild fisheries management in Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of our Canadian Constitution gives the Aboriginal fishery priority over others, second only to conservation requirements. This means that no fishery can be permitted if a fish population does not exceed a number deemed to be the required spawning escapement, as determined by DFO.

Each year, DFO’s Science Branch assesses fish population abundance and publishes a peer-reviewed report on their findings. DFO presents this report to a resource users meeting (ZMAC – Zone Management Advisory Committee) and submits the resulting recommendations and submissions to higher management, who determine who, if anyone, fishes, and when. For the Guysborough County zone, the meeting is held each spring in Sherbrooke, NS. The meeting is open to all resource users, in this case salmon anglers and Aboriginal fishers. If you are one of those, this is your forum.

So, how has this procedure been applied to the St. Mary’s River? DFO reports that the St. Mary’s River met only 28% of spawning requirements in 2004. According to DFO, our salmon run was estimated to be less than 1000 fish, down from about 7,000 in the mid-1980s. Given the low abundance of salmon, we were fortunate to get a sport fishery at all. The Native Council of Nova Scotia agreed not to fish, yet they generously agreed to recommend a six-week catch-and-release angling season because they appreciate the cultural, social and economic importance of the sport fishery to watershed communities.

If numbers dip much below 25% of spawning requirement, DFO tells us that no fisheries will be permitted, not even catch-and-release. That’s why St. Mary’s River Association volunteers assist DFO in all salmon assessment on the St. Mary’s – we all want DFO estimates to be as accurate as possible.

But anyone who regularly fishes the St. Mary’s for salmon knows that during the past three years our salmon population is rebounding. In my opinion, returns of 2008 were reminiscent of the highs of the mid-1980s. So far, DFO’s stock assessment estimates do not reflect this dramatic increase. If DFO’s 2008 estimates fail to recognize this, then we know that their assessment methods are inadequate, and that important fisheries management decisions are being made using erroneous information.

Our discussion raises many questions that, for this week, will have to remain unanswered, but will be addressed in future columns. Your questions or comments are welcome.

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