Message from Our President

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Published on Thursday, 01 September 2016 09:18

Written by Super User

Introduction from NB Salmon Council President Kevin Davidson

September 2, 2020

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Kevin Davidson.  I am the new president of the NB Salmon Council (NBSC).  I became president in March following the two-year term of John Pugh.  I’d like to thank John for his work and exemplary contributions to Atlantic salmon conservation during his term as president from March 2018 to March 2020.

As for me, my interest in fisheries and wildlife and their conservation started at a very early age and led me to a 40 year career working as a fisheries and wildlife biologist as a consultant, a biologist and program manager with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and a senior manager with Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service. I have extensive research and management experience in the management of fish, fisheries, migratory birds, species at risk and their habitats. I am an enthusiastic salmon conservationist who recognizes the important ecological, cultural, and economic roles that wild Atlantic salmon play in New Brunswick and throughout Atlantic Canada.  I also recognize that salmon conservation in New Brunswick is wholly dependent on the many contributions and positive influence made by our affiliate organizations.  I will be working with the NBSC’s committee members and our affiliates, and in collaboration with the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) to further the conservation and enhancement of Atlantic salmon and their habitats across New Brunswick.

As I take over the reins, there are several issues in which we are actively engaged and will be having input:

• Miramichi Lake and Invasive Species:  We will continue to support the efforts of the North Shore Mic Mac District Council and the Atlantic Salmon Federation to eliminate invasive smallmouth bass from the upper Southwest Miramichi.  We are also represented on the NB Invasive Species Council to counteract and discourage the proliferation of invasive plant and animal species.

• Striped Bass:   Analysis of DFO data and ASF-led research confirm that Miramichi’s striped bass populations are having an adverse effect on Atlantic salmon populations.  We have pressured and will continue to pressure DFO to establish target population levels and management regimes which will guarantee the sustainability and conservation of both species and the fisheries they support today and into the future.

• Core Programs:  We have two core programs which we will continue to support:
  1. our Fish Friends program teaches elementary school students the early life history of salmon, and
  2. disease testing of broodstock salmon that provide unfed fry for the Aroostook River (St. John drainage) re-colonization project.

• Implementation of the Precautionary Approach (PA) for Atlantic Salmon Fisheries:              DFO’s precautionary approach is intended to establish salmon harvest regulations at different population levels.  We have actively participated in consultations with DFO and First Nations’ stakeholders regarding implementation of this program.  DFO has admitted that there is no allocation associated with the catch-and-release (C&R) recreational fishery, and it is instead a conservation measure.  We will continue to lobby for fisheries harvest measures which are consistent with the long-term conservation of this species.

• Crown lands Network: We are represented on this group that works to balance timber harvest with the habitat requirements of fish and wildlife.

• Fish Passage: We will continue to lobby for effective fish passage at all dams in the Province of NB.  We are particularly concerned about downstream smolt passage at the Mactaquac Dam and headpond and the Tinker Dam on the Aroostook River (St. John River drainage).  We are also supporting other conservation interests in pursuing the removal of dams at Milltown on the St. Croix river; at the mouth of the Musquash River; and on Campbell’s Creek, a tributary of the Nashwaak River.

I look forward to working with our affiliates and partners to conserve and improve the salmon populations of New Brunswick and its boundary rivers for the benefit of the species and the fisheries opportunities it provides.

Yours in conservation,

Kevin Davidson