Since 1953 the Miramichi Salmon Association (MSA) has worked toward the preservation of the wild Atlantic salmon and the enhancement of salmon habitat. At the MSA we are constantly striving to build and strengthen our membership, so we encourage you, if not already a member, to please join our ranks. 
Your monthly resource for MSA conservation updates, Miramichi Watershed Information, upcoming MSA Events and much much more.
Be sure to stay up to date with videos and photos by liking us on Facebook and Twitter:
Vol. 44 March 2022
A Message from the MSA President -
Dr. Robyn McCallum
March 2022 Update

We have had a few glimpses of ‘false spring’, but we are definitely back in a cold spell with unpredictable weather! Nevertheless, we are making plans for our spring field work, particularly with our smolt estimate and collection projects.

I want to recognize the hard work from the MSA US Dinner Committee for the recent virtual event. This auction and social gathering, even virtually, was a huge success! Well done to all involved- it was lovely to connect with you all.

We are pleased to announce that Elise Collet is the recipient of the 2022 Jack Fenety Conservation Scholarship. Elise will be working on establishing a river by river temperature trigger for behavioural thermoregulation in juvenile Atlantic Salmon. She is under the supervision of Dr. Antoin O’Sullivan through University of New Brunswick Fredericton and the Canadian Rivers Institute. Thank you also to the education committee for facilitating this process.
MSA Staff are working on finalizing the 2021 annual report, which will be available for our upcoming AGM.

Changing COVID-19 regulations are certainly keeping the Development Committee and MSA Staff on our toes- but we are hopeful for the events and fundraisers planned for 2022.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Robyn
Upcoming Online Auction

Keep you eyes open for the MSA Spring Online Auction which will be launching in the coming weeks. The auction will be be jam packed with interesting items ranging from fishing trips, fishing equipment, artwork and some practical items like delicious food and household décor.
MSA US virtual event - a real success!
As many of you know, on February 5th the MSA US hosted a livestream in conjunction with an online auction and some fun raffles. The MSA wanted to report that the auction, raffle, and livestream were well received and the MSA US dinner committee was able to raise a significant amount of money for salmon conservation in the Miramichi. A big thank you to the MSA US dinner committee which includes: Brad Burns, Andy Dumaine, Rip Cunningham, David Fenderson, Gary Plante, Gary Tanner, Jim Blackwell, Ralph Vitale and Topher Brown. Thank you all for your incredible efforts and congratulations on a successful MSA fundraiser!!
'Spring into the Season'
Rocky Bend Raffle
Check out the MSA's latest raffle for a fishing trip to Rocky Bend!
All inclusive for up to 6 rods, meals, guide, accommodations
July 31st- August 2nd.
Ticket available by clicking the link below.
Tickets are $50 each. Draw is April 30th
FishPal Update
Earlier this week, the MSA launched our booking and fishing information webpage for the Miramichi on the FishPal website. This popular online booking and information portal for salmon fishing originated in Scotland and has become a popular way to check fishing conditions, stay up to date on the latest catch information, and book individual rod days or full fishing trips. The MSA is excited to launch this new and helpful addition to the salmon fishing experience in the Miramichi.

This idea behind this website seems to lend itself well to the Miramichi where there is often vacant or under utilized fishing water that could be sold to anglers on a daily or weekly basis. In addition to being able to book fishing, FishPal Miramichi will also provide anglers with a myriad of information including fishing conditions, accommodations options, available fishing water, catch statistics, fishing reports, current water levels, weather information, future prospects and important MSA conservation activities in the Miramichi.
 
If you have fishing water that you would like to list on the FishPal site, or any questions, please contact Butch at butch@miramichisalmon.ca

Remembering Bryant Freeman (1941-2021)
by Gary Tanner
In many ways, Atlantic salmon rivers have a way of bringing some folks to the very top of their game. Bryant Freeman is no exception. Born handy to the Medway River in Nova Scotia, Bryant spent much of his adult life involved with Atlantic salmon angling and conservation.  He left Nova Scotia at 16, spending the rest of his days in New Brunswick.
Bryant opened his own fly shop in the basement of his home in Riverview, NB in 1984, much as his own father had opened a shop in his home back in Greenfield, Nova Scotia when Bryant was a lad. He named his shop, “Eskape Anglers.”  Bryant separated thousands of anglers from what was in their wallet in that basement shop…but he gave as good as he got.  Accounts of his generosity, particularly towards children and beginning anglers are legendary.  His generosity encompassed not just the material things associated with salmon fishing, but he shared his knowledge, particularly about salmon fly tying and materials dyeing, far and wide. And he was a heck of a tyer (photo courtesy Jerome Molloy)
A beautiful Bryant Freeman fly
Bryant having a little fun!
Bryant was recognized for his Atlantic salmon conservation efforts when he received the New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor’s award for his work. And among other awards, he was inducted into the Atlantic Salmon Museum’s Hall of Fame in Doaktown, New Brunswick. One thing is for sure, he was always happy to be on a salmon river!
Bryant Freeman and Gary Tanner enjoy a day on the river
In his own hands - Bryant's fly box
The Carter Bug Bryant gave to Gary
The Carter’s Bug, developed by Bill Carter of Moncton, NB, became synonymous with the name Bryant Freeman and his shop. He freely shared all the secrets of tying a proper Carter bug, and fished it to great effect himself.  It was a treat to meet up with Bryant on the Miramichi, and get a look into the man’s fly box.

As our little way of paying tribute to Bryant and to help raise important funds, artist Chris Williams of St. Stephen, NB, friend of Bryant’s Bryan Burgess of Central Hainesville and myself put together a framing that will be auctioned off at a future date. Chris donated his artwork, Bryan gave us a Carter Bug tied by Bryant, and I was happy to create a shadow box in memory of Bryant Freeman:
Carter Bug Illustration
Gary's Shadow Box
The Carter Bug
As his long-time friend Jerome Molloy said to me today, “Bryant was larger than life.”  He embodied the best of what an Atlantic salmon angler and conservationist ought to be. He is missed.
MSA Summer Student positions - Apply now!
Are you looking for an opportunity to build your career over the summer? The Miramichi Salmon Association is seeking enthusiastic and professional students/ youth to hire for the summer field season! Successful applicants will be working closely with the biologist and hatchery staff to conduct multiple field programs and fisheries conservation practices. This is an excellent opportunity to gain hands on experience in the biological or environmental sciences.
 
Resumes can be sent to our Biologist Lyndsay Jay-Keating at biologist@miramichisalmon.ca by 4 pm (AST) on Friday, April 1, 2022. Further descriptions of student positions can be found on our website at www.miramichisalmon.ca.
2022 MSA Jack Fenety Scholarship Winner -
Elise Collet
My name is Elise Collet, and I am thrilled to be this year’s recipient of the Jack T.H. Fenety Conservation Scholarship. I am currently finishing a BSc in biology at St. Francis Xavier University where I have been completing an honour’s thesis on the regeneration ecology of Black ash trees in Nova Scotia. Over the course of my degree, I have had the opportunity to work for government organizations such as Parks New Brunswick and the department of Fisheries and Oceans. I have also worked for the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick where I have been fortunate enough to work on many projects including the Fundy Salmon Recovery Project in Fundy National Park.

Current regulations imposed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gulf Region, force river closures when the water temperature is ≥ 20°C for two consecutive nights. While these regulations aim to protect salmon, these regulations imply that temperature is homogenous throughout the river. Recent research highlights the need to understand the non-linearity of river thermal regimes and how behavioural differences may reflect this non-linearity. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of temperatures that trigger behavioural thermoregulation and use this information to create new management plans for Atlantic salmon. The goal of this project is to detail spatio-temporal variability of temperature triggers for thermal aggregation and develop a guide for fisheries managers that accounts for plasticity of salmon linked to landscape. I believe that this research will undoubtedly produce useful implications for the conservation and management of Atlantic salmon populations.

I have always been particularly interested in environmental and biological research that produces meaningful results that can aid in conservation efforts and inform management decisions. As such, I am very excited to pursue an MSc. project that focuses on those values. I am very grateful to the Miramichi Salmon Association for supporting me on this project and I cannot wait to begin!
Question Corner - this week....by
Mark Hambrook
Do you have a question about Atlantic salmon, fish biology, river science or ecosystem management that you would like answered? Have you ever wondered what salmon do in the winter, under the ice or what frazil and anchor ice is and how is it different from surface ice? Don't be shy, send in your questions!

The question this month came from Raymond Tolan . Raymond asked: How long has there been a stocking program in place in the Miramichi?

Mark's Answer - The short answer is since 1874, but the story goes a little like this:
 
The artificial spawning of salmonids began in the mid-1800's in Europe and North America and the most experienced fish culturist in Canada at the time was a man named Samuel Wilmot from Ontario. Shortly after Confederation in 1867, Samuel Wilmot was hired by the Government of Canada to build 15 hatcheries across the country to enhance fish populations. The first was constructed on the Restigouche River near the community of Flatlands in the early 1870's and it only lasted for about 10 years when a flood destroyed the facility. The second was built in Miramichi in the community of South Esk in 1873 and it has been continuously operating since that time, with adult salmon collected in 1873, spawned and the first salmon fry being stocked in the Miramichi in 1874. For the first 30 years, staff would collect a few hundred wild salmon broodstock and stock about 1 million fry from the parents. To increase the number of fish being stocked, in the early 1900's the government then decided to buy the wild adult salmon from the commercial trapnet fishery that operated close to the fish hatchery and the fishermen would scoop the salmon from their traps and put them in floating wooden crates and take them to the hatchery by boat and deposit them in a holding pond to await spawning in the fall. This was so efficient, that the number of adults collected were now in the thousands and millions of fry were produced for stocking the river by this method for over 50 years. At that time, the railway ran from Miramichi along the SW Miramichi all the way to Juniper in the headwaters and the fry were distributed using the railway with multiple stops along the route where men with teams of horses would take the fry to various locations along the river.  
In 2023, the South Esk hatchery, now called the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre, will celebrate 150 years of existence, now under the oversight of the Miramichi Salmon Association.
Programs have evolved, but the Miramichi has been continuously stocked with salmon since 1874.
Dr. Richard Cunjak is a retired professor at University of New Brunswick where he held a joint appointment in the Department of Biology and the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Management. Rick has more than 35 years experience working on the behavioural ecology of riverine fishes. To date, he has published over 140 scientific papers, reports and book chapters in three languages. 
Upcoming MSA Events

  • MSA Science Day Symposium ---- TBD

  • MSA Annual General Meeting ---- TBD

  • MSA Icebreaker Dinner ----TBD

Still not a member of the Miramichi Salmon Association?
 Membership in the MSA is the perfect way to express your passion and support for the Miramichi River, for the Atlantic salmon who make it their home, and for the vital work being done by the MSA to protect and conserve both for today and tomorrow!
Miramichi Salmon Association | 506-622-4000 | |www.miramichisalmon.ca