Salmon fishing threatened by climate change

” Climate models tend to tell us that there are going to be more periods of low water. There are also certain rivers which, in addition to experiencing periods of low water, are more likely to experience periods of warm water. »

Warm rivers also provide unfavorable conditions for Atlantic salmon.

In certain sectors of Eastern Quebec, such as in the Gaspé, several rivers experience periods of low water, but only rarely become hot, according to the biologist, since they have their source in the Chic-Chocs. All in all, the water remains quite cold, which is an excellent thing.

Periods of drought have been accumulating in Eastern Quebec for almost ten summers.

These droughts have the effect of delaying salmon runs in the region’s rivers.

During last summer’s drought, the salmon in the Matane River were hard hit, according to the general manager of the Société de gestion de la rivière Matane, Sébastien Lavoie.

On Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the river was already in low water.

” We were greatly affected by the drought of 2021. When we fall in a low water period, therefore in a drought period when the water is low and warmer, it is obvious that it can be problematic for the salmon. »

On the side of Gaspé, the rivers were treated to a small miracle.

Last year, we were lucky. In all of Quebec, we were probably the only small piece of region where there was water, says the director general of the Société de gestion des rivières de Gaspé, Rémi Lesmerises. We had rain and good water levels almost all summer, except maybe two weeks in August, which is natural.

Although he considers himself lucky, because his rivers were doing better than others thanks to the rain, Mr. Lesmerises says it is very difficult to predict the droughts that will certainly come in the next few years.

It is certain that climate change makes the situation more difficult to anticipate. There are big variations between the years. For example, if we go back to 2020, the water levels were very low all summer.

For his part, the chairman of the board of directors of the ZEC of the Bonaventure River, André Hébert, maintains that it is mainly canoe fishing that has been affected on his river in 2021, due to too low water levels.

In addition, he says that during a drought like last year, the conditions are not favorable for good fishing. Salmon in warmer, lower water catch less flies and usually hang out more in areas downriver.

Thermal shelters

In these periods of drought, thermal refuges greatly contribute to the survival of salmon.

” Thermal refuges are habitats that are super important for fish. These are places which, through fresh water springs, underground or small cold tributary rivers, will create areas which are really cooler than the main trunk of the river. »

The manager of the Matane River, Sébastien Lavoie, agrees. The salmon hides in the thermal refuges to be a bit in survival mode. In these times, of course, these are critical periods when you have to be careful with fishing to cause the least possible mortality.

It is therefore very important that users take care that their actions are respectful of the environment near thermal refuges.

We invite people to take special precautions in these areas, regardless of the type of activity. adds Ms. Bergeron.

Sébastien Lavoie declares that on the wildlife protection side, his team devotes more energy to the protection of these thermal refuges during periods of low water.

As for periods of drought, Mr. Lavoie says it is a trend that needs to be monitored for years to come to see how it will affect salmon populations.

More awareness

Even if a drought does not seem to be on the menu for this summer season so far, it is important to make salmon river users aware of the various practices to adopt on such occasions, since they will be more numerous in the futurerecalls the director of the FQSAMs Bergeron.

The biologist advises anglers to contact all the managers of salmon rivers in Quebec before going there in order to find out about good fishing practices in rivers and especially in warm water.

Call the reception desks, it’s super important! They know what the conditions are and can know if it’s good to come fishing or not.

Good release practices are also important to protect salmon populations in the waters.