May 6th, 2022 - Kelt Tagging with ASF

In April, our HRAA field team and a few volunteers got to join forces with the Atlantic Salmon Federation in a multi-partner, multi-watershed salmon research project! This project is led by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans through the Environmental Studies Research Fund, and includes partners from the Restigouche River, Margaree Salmon Association, Gespe’gewaq Mi’gmaq Resource Council, Central Newfoundland Rivers, St. Mary’s River Association, and many more! The goal of the project is to use acoustic and satellite tagging telemetry to better understand the migratory behavior of Atlantic salmon while at sea. The objective of this project is to determine when, where, and for how long Atlantic salmon from different life stages are in the Eastern Canadian offshore regions and prevalence in areas of offshore oil and gas activities, and the results from this project will help guide regulatory decision making.

Over the course of 3 days, our crew were able to catch 2 kelt, and both received an acoustic tag before being successfully released. We are also happy to report that both were indeed WILD Atlantic salmon! We are looking forward to seeing and sharing the results, and hopefully these 2 Hammond salmon will eventually return to our river!