April 4, 2019 – South Esk, NB: The CAST (Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow) team of six
scientists recently completed the largest study of wild Atlantic salmon
genetics in a North American river.
Their peer reviewed work on the Miramichi River has been published in
the international journal Molecular
Ecology.
The team included:
Dr. Kyle Wellband - Post-doctoral
researcher at Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick
Dr. Claire Mérot - Université Laval
Dr. Tommi Linnansaari - Canadian
Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick
Dr. J. A. K. Elliott - VP Technical
and Freshwater Operations, Cooke Aquaculture
Dr. R. Allen Curry - Canadian Rivers
Institute, University of New Brunswick
Dr. Louis Bernatchez - Université
Laval
No previous study in North America has
examined differences in salmon with such detail. With the advanced technology available to the
CAST Science Team, researchers were able to measure if
Salmon returning to different
tributaries in the Miramichi River are genetically different. They will also use the technology to identify
the parents of juvenile salmon born in the wild, including wild salmon parents
who were protected from predators for 2 years at the Miramichi Salmon
Association hatchery at South Esk.
This study discovered that unlike
European Atlantic salmon, Miramichi River Atlantic salmon were found to have
differing numbers of chromosomes – this probably helps them adapt to different
streams and may help them adapt to climate change. Scientists also discovered that there are
virtually no genetic differences between wild Atlantic salmon in the northwest
and southwest branches of the Miramichi River. This is unlike what is known
about many other salmon rivers in the world. Scientists have now proven that
genetics do not determine which tributary a Miramichi Atlantic salmon returns
to.
|
Dr. Kyle Wellband |
Dr. Kyle Wellband, a native of
Sackville N.B., was the lead author of the study. “This a very important finding. We expected the fish to be different between
the northwest and southwest branches. They are not,” Dr. Wellband
explains. “Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
and other stakeholders can take comfort in the fact that for the first time we
have a very clear picture of the genetic structure across the whole
catchment. The study proves the fish are
naturally adapted to the river but not to a specific river branch as previously
thought.”
With these discoveries, scientists are
urging DFO to allow the CAST scientists to examine the merits of a novel
conservation strategy where young wild Atlantic salmon are caught and protected
against predators at the South Esk hatchery until they are ready to spawn the
next generation of fish in the river.
DFO has permitted the collection, but not the release of the
approximately 8,000 fish currently at South Esk that are due to spawn during
this, and over the next few autumns.
The clock is ticking. These
8,000 fish are a significant contribution to the entire wild salmon population
in the northwest Miramichi today. The
great majority of wild Atlantic salmon that make the journey out to sea are not
returning to spawn. Last year was among
the worst in recorded history. Continued
inaction may lead to an Atlantic salmon population too small to sustain itself,
such as what has happened already in many of our rivers, like the Saint John. The 8,000 fish
at the hatchery will lay an estimated 25 million eggs which are vital to
regenerating threatened wild salmon on the Miramichi.
CONTACT:
Dr. Kyle Wellband
Post-doctoral researcher at Canadian
Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick
Email: kwellban@unb.ca
Phone: 226-350-0661
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