Atlantic Salmon Population Dynamics of the Cascapedia River

The Atlantic Salmon is a large anadromous fish that ranges across the northern Atlantic Ocean. They have been a preferred food source wherever encountered, and today they are harvested commercially and by sports fishermen. Habitat loss and destruction throughout their range has been another major cause of declining populations. As a result, Atlantic Salmon have been listing as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. CBS has access to salmon catch records on the Cascapedia River from 1975 to the present - a 46-year period - through the notes from a historic fishing camp. The Cascapedia has experienced sports fishing for approximately 150 years, but the last four decades have shown disturbing and prognostic changes in its Atlantic Salmon population. This historic data trove has allowed CBS to take a comprehensive look at this fishery, and it will allow us to help craft management actions that will preserve this iconic fish.

Years of data have been logged over the decades giving us the following information. Below are graphs with information about the frequency of salmon caught with specific weights (two were documented at 47lbs!) and the amount of fish caught per year at Lorne Cottage. Very little data was logged in 2020 due to the closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.