I was disappointed. The Atlantic Salmon Federation was disappointed. We have some data. It's not just an emotional response.
I mentioned in my presentation about the smolt tracking work and adult sonic tag tracking work that the Atlantic Salmon Federation is doing in the Miramichi, Restigouche, and Cascapedia. We've been tagging smolts on those three rivers since 2003, the last 12 or 13 years.
The survival rate of the smolt from the Grand Cascapedia and Restigouche rivers downriver and out through the bay and estuary in any given year ranges from 60% to 70%, yet on the Miramichi it's 25% to 30%. The major difference is the striped bass population.
You have the striped bass, which is the Gulf of St. Lawrence striped bass population from Gaspé to Cape Breton Island. They are in the Miramichi system in the spring. That's their spawning habitat. The numbers have increased considerably over the last number of years. There is strong evidence to suggest that their predation on outgoing smolts is probably quite high.