The leaves are starting to tinge in color, and an exciting season of fall fishing is just around the corner! Hopefully you can enjoy some angling this month.

The warm water protocol committee was active in August to address warm weather conditions that can be stressful for salmon. Fortunately, the weather has turned a bit and most cold water pools are open once again for angling. For updated information, visit our website and social media channels to check on weather conditions and angling restrictions.

Much of August was focused on smallmouth bass eradication- fish rescue, barrier installation, material positioning, training. Eradication was planned for Miramichi Lake and a stretch of the SW Miramichi mid-August. MSA personnel joined a team of 120+ volunteers to carry out this complex project. Protestors unfamiliar with the project paddled onto Miramichi Lake, interrupting operations. To allow more information to be shared with communities, the smallmouth bass working group pressed pause. Information sessions have been scheduled for September in a number of First Nation communities, and the working group meets daily to evaluate our options. Conserving this ecosystem and eradicating invasive smallmouth bass is still our objective, and we will do everything we can to make this happen. More updates as they become available will be shared with MSA members via email, social media, and our website. The working group, which MSA is a member of, has shared a number of factual articles in provincial and national newspapers and through our respective websites. I want to thank the many volunteers who remain engaged with this project and saving this ecosystem. We must focus on the big picture and stop the spread of this invasive fish.

Our field team recently concluded juvenile assessments through electrofishing. To learn more, visit our website at https://miramichisalmon.ca/juvenile-assessment-electrofishing/. We will soon begin managing in-stream obstructions to optimize migration for spawning, and will also move into our broodstock collection later this season.

Fundraising dinner committees and MSA staff are working diligently to organize our first in-person dinners since the COVID-pandemic began. We can’t wait to see you at these events! Tickets are on sale now for the Fredericton Dinner and the Saint John Dinner. We appreciate your ongoing support for these events. We are also working on our 2022 calendar. All MSA members receive this annual calendar. This year’s calendar theme focuses on our conservation programs through the seasons. If you’d like to sponsor a month in the calendar, please contact our office. Sponsorship opportunities are available for $350 and reach a large audience. Thank you for your support!

We have been hearing of suspicious activity and suspected poaching throughout the watershed. We meet regularly with DFO’s Conservation and Protection team. If you witness suspicious activity, I urge you to call (506) 857-6328. This telephone line is always monitored and you will be connected with someone immediately. The only way we can make a difference in poaching is to report suspicious activity and keep our eyes on the water.

I had the pleasure of joining MSA supporters in August for an evening of fishing in Blackville. It was an incredible opportunity to step away from smallmouth bass eradication planning briefly and re-focus on why we are all here- to preserve the Miramichi River and its salmon populations for generations to come. It was a gorgeous evening with great company- thank you.

I’d like to end this update by sending a sincere thank you to the students we welcomed to MSA this summer. Most have returned to university by now, and we hope they will join us again next summer. Their positive attitudes and extraordinary work ethic helped our team accomplish many projects this year, including days of long hours in remote locations. Thank you all, and best of luck with your studies this year.

Robyn

It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end, but as any angler will tell you, fall is a great time of year! It's also a time to reflect and share some fishing stories with friends and fellow anglers. The MSA would like to invite you to share a few tales with friends at the 25th Annual MSA Fredericton Dinner and Auction on October 7th at the Fredericton Inn.

This year, the Fredericton dinner committee will recognize the enormous contribution the Wade family and Wade’s Fishing Lodge has made to the Miramichi outfitting industry. For more that 50 years, Wade’s family name has been synonymous with the Miramichi and salmon fishing. We hope that you will consider attending this important dinner in honour of the Wade family. We look forward to celebrating the Wade’s rich Miramichi history together! 

Check out our video updates by Dr. Robyn McCallum. In these bi-weekly videos, Robyn provides an update on the latest news from around the watershed and what is coming up for the MSA. It's an easy way to catch up on all the MSA news in one place! Check out her videos by clicking the link below.

Much of August was focused on smallmouth bass eradication- fish rescue, barrier installation, material positioning, training. Eradication was planned for Miramichi Lake and a stretch of the SW Miramichi mid-August. MSA personnel joined a team of 120+ volunteers to carry out this complex project. Protestors unfamiliar with the project paddled onto Miramichi Lake, interrupting operations. To allow more information to be shared with communities, the smallmouth bass working group pressed pause. Information sessions have been scheduled for September in a number of First Nation communities, and the working group meets daily to evaluate our options. Conserving this ecosystem and eradicating invasive smallmouth bass is still our objective, and we will do everything we can to make this happen. More updates as they become available will be shared with MSA members via email, social media, and our website. The working group, which MSA is a member of, has shared a number of factual articles in provincial and national newspapers and through our respective websites. I want to thank the many volunteers who remain engaged with this project and saving this ecosystem. We must focus on the big picture and stop the spread of this invasive fish.

The updated trap net numbers indicate that salmon and grilse returns are much better than other recent years, but not as good as the early 2000's. For the full report, please click the link below.

We would like to thank the MSA summer students for all the long hours and hard work they put in over the course of the summer and we wish you the best of luck returning to university! Thank you!

 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!