Madam Chair, members of the committee, good evening.
Thank you for the invitation to appear today.
I'm Nathan Wilbur, president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation. I'm joined by Neville Crabbe, vice-president of communications and special projects.
ASF is a 78-year-old conservation organization dedicated to wild Atlantic salmon, with the goal of doubling annual salmon returns to one million. We work throughout eastern Canada and internationally conducting research, advocacy and on-the-ground conservation, always in partnership with indigenous communities, governments, grassroots organizations and scientists. Some of our most unique work has included creative conservation agreements with the Greenlanders to help keep harvest low at sea.
This iconic fish drives over $200 million in annual spending and supports 3,800 jobs in eastern Canada, but much more than that, it is central to the cultural fabric of the region.
The status of Atlantic salmon is mixed. In the north, Labrador and northern Quebec remain a global stronghold, but populations in the gulf region, Newfoundland, the Gaspé and the Maritimes need urgent help.
Three major government-led studies in the past decade have produced a combined 90 recommendations for DFO. Many have not been implemented, and the salmon community has grown frustrated.
However, we are optimistic. Canada has recently released its national strategy for Atlantic salmon, with over $80 million to accompany it. ASF has pledged $25 million in privately raised funding towards the strategy's goals, for a total of over $100 million in new investment. I want to sincerely thank members of Parliament, members of this committee and the Government of Canada for this historic commitment.
Atlantic salmon face many pressures: climate change, aquaculture, predation, barriers to fish passage, land use and low marine survival. ASF works on all of these issues.
One fundamental principle of our approach is to focus investment where it will have the greatest impact. On this point, I'd like to give the committee a concrete example of how you can help increase the number of wild Atlantic salmon returning to Canadian rivers by tens of thousands, and it won't cost the Government of Canada a cent.
Some watersheds have an outsized level of importance ecologically, culturally and economically. The Miramichi was once the most productive Atlantic salmon river in North America, but over the last 15 years, adult salmon numbers have fallen from 80,000 to 5,000. This decline has been driven primarily by one factor: striped bass predation.
During the growth of striped bass from 3,000 spawners in the nineties to 500,000 today, our tracking research has shown a collapse in salmon smolt survival from 70% to less than 10% through the Miramichi estuary, where these salmon overlap with aggregating striped bass. In other words, juvenile salmon simply are not making it to sea. If you'd like to see what this looks like, I have emailed you a short video.
Striped bass are a native species. They have a place in the ecosystem, but balance is needed. This is our number one message today: We urge DFO to establish an ecosystem-based management target of 100,000 spawning striped bass and to achieve this goal by growing the existing indigenous commercial fishery and by allowing bycatch in the gaspereau fishery in the gulf.
This would dramatically improve salmon survival on the Miramichi and reduce predation pressure on other gulf rivers, such as the Restigouche, the Cascapédia and the Margaree, while continuing to conserve striped bass and its thriving commercial, indigenous and recreational fisheries. These are all positive outcomes, and it's a win-win approach.
The current DFO limit reference point of 330,000 striped bass makes Miramichi salmon recovery impossible. DFO has its own policy stating that rebuilding one predator population cannot come at the detriment of other species. We are urging DFO to apply its ecosystem approach to fisheries management, because the department has a responsibility to conserve both Atlantic salmon and striped bass.
In conclusion, to put this opportunity into perspective, restoring the Miramichi salmon population to 50,000 would generate gains five times greater than the entire Greenland salmon harvest on one river system. This does not require new funding or more science; it requires fisheries management decisions right now. This is a solvable issue in domestic waters.
Madam Chair, the Government of Canada has made a historic investment in Atlantic salmon recovery. With the right focus, we can ensure that this species thrives for generations to come.
Thank you.