Adult Salmon Health (Snorkel Surveys) - Cape Breton Highlands

What? Adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations are being monitored in the Clyburn River in Cape Breton Highlands National Park during the fall salmon run. When? Monitoring frequency is annually during the adult Atlantic salmon fall run in the Clyburn River. How? Approximately eight kilometers of the Clyburn River is snorkel surveyed in two sections (approximately four kilometers each) to record species, numbers, age class and locations of salmonid species in the river during the survey. A survey of the entire river occurs within a 24 hour period by two to three field teams consecutively. Why? Fish populations are prominent components of aquatic ecosystems and a key node in the aquatic food web. Fish are sensitive to many forms of physical, chemical and biological stressors which alter fish condition, community structure and/or biomass. In addition to the indirect impacts human activities have on fish communities, there are direct impacts associated with harvesting sport fish such as Atlantic salmon from rivers. The Eastern Cape Breton Atlantic salmon population is listed by COSEWIC as Endangered and the status of the population is under review by SARA. Adult salmon populations in are important resources to monitor from the perspective of resource management.