—was one of the most productive Atlantic salmon rivers in the world. Dams destroyed that. There are three first nations communities on the St. John River that cannot fish for food, social, or ceremonial purposes because there aren't enough fish. The once lucrative recreational Atlantic salmon fishery in the St. John River has closed.
If we look to Nova Scotia, there are 120 Atlantic salmon rivers. Two-thirds of them are closed because there aren't enough fish. That means that there are no recreational fisheries but also no first nations fisheries on a lot of those rivers. How will the revisions in the act improve that?
We have rivers that have Atlantic salmon populations, but they're threatened with extinction or are protected under SARA. Will the act protect those fish? There's no commercial fishery. There's no aboriginal fishery. There's no recreational fishery. Where does the Nashwaak fall? Where does the Medway River in Nova Scotia fall? Those are legitimate concerns.
We're not saying that there should not be a modernization of the act at all. We're just saying please give us the time to truly consult, exchange information among the experts and among the scientific community, and figure out what the partnerships will look like.
I can only speak for the Atlantic Salmon Federation and all the people we represent. We've played an important role until now. We'd like to continue. We're ready, willing, and able. What will that role look like? Where will our volunteers fit? Where will our science community fit? Those are the questions we're asking.