Heat wave closes salmon pools on Miramichi, other N.B. rivers

Even the fish aren't immune to the New Brunswick's heat wave.

As of Thursday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said on its website that salmon pools are closed to angling on the Miramichi River system, under the warm water protocol.

When temperatures reach certain thresholds, this protocol comes into effect, and all fishing is prohibited so that salmon are not accidentally caught, the DFO website said.

The same protocol will also apply to the Nepisiguit and Restigouche rivers starting Friday, a DFO release said.

"These measures are in place to help reduce stress to the fish," said Kristen Noel, a spokesperson for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

"The Atlantic salmon population in the southern gulf of St. Lawrence has been declining for several years now, so the warm water protocol is just another measure to help protect them," she said.

At this time of year, the fish are migrating upriver, Noel said. Warmer temperatures make salmon more sluggish and they congregate in deep-water pools along the river, which often have cooler temperatures. 

On the Miramichi, the closure applies to 32 salmon pools.

"So making sure that there aren't any angling efforts on days where it is that hot, and they're trying to seek refuge in these cold water pools, is just making sure that we're not making them exert all of that energy that they don't need to," Noel said.

The warm water protocol is determined on a day-to-day basis and updates are on the DFO website, she said.

"It seems like it's a little earlier than it normally is, but it really does differ year by year."

Longtime outfitter says river has changed

Nestled along the banks of the Miramichi, fishing outfitters provide access and guides to fishermen looking to get a piece of New Brunswick's famous salmon fishing.

But with the closure of the salmon pools, that industry grinds to a halt.

"It's definitely not good news for us," said Karl Wilson, owner of Wilson's on the Miramichi River. His business in McNamee, between Doaktown and Boiestown, has been in the family since 1855.

Wilson said this is the earliest heat closure he can remember in recent memory.

"An early spring and no precipitation — and this heat wave is killing us, as far as the recreational fishery goes," he said.

Despite the disappointment, Wilson recognizes the need to protect the fish.

"We don't want to necessarily be out there trying to hook fish when they're trying to survive," he said.

But when word of these closures gets out, it impacts his clients. 

"Most of our fishermen are from out of province or out of country, and people just won't come when the river's closed or parts of the river are closed."

Wilson said the closure coming earlier in the season is just another grim reminder of how he's seen the river change. He said the Miramichi has a reputation for a depleting salmon stock, and he wishes more conservation efforts had been undertaken by now.

"Little stuff like these river closures, albeit good protection measures for the salmon, in my opinion it's too little too late kind of thing," Wilson said.

Outfitters are getting harder to find and locals are losing interest in fishing, and Wilson said he worries whether his five-year-old son will "know what a salmon is by the time he gets to be a teenager."

"It's a way of life and a whole culture that we're losing," Wilson said, but is quick to add that comes second to conserving the species that's come to define his corner of the province.

Since 2015, Atlantic salmon have been under mandatory catch-and-release in the gulf region, according to the DFO. 

"The old mentality of let's catch and release and close pools and all that kind of stuff is all great in principle, but at this point it's cutting hairs and is not helping anything," Wilson said.

"When there's no fish out there in the river to protect, these measures are a bit futile in my mind."