2018 SMRA NEWS Online (NXPowerLite Copy)

Page 20
Greetings from the
Nova Scotia Salmon Association
The past year
has been a busy
one for the
NSSA and for
river organizations
across
Nova Scotia as
salmon continue
their decline and
as we and
dedicated river
organizations,
such as the St.
Mary’s River
Association,
work tirelessly to stave off extinction and foster recovery.
As the provincial spokes body for the Wild Atlantic
Salmon we work closely with our NGO partners,
like the SMRA, and government departments to represent
our affiliates interests and to try and effect
positive change for Atlantic Salmon through advocacy;
policy development, implementation, and influence;
primary research; and logistical and technical
support. Over the past year we have tried to achieve
these objectives through numerous meetings, projects,
and initiatives. Of course, our two major initiatives
being the NSLC Adopt-A-Stream program,
which under the excellent management and direction
of Amy Weston and Bob Rutherford recently passed
the 2,000,000 m 2 of habitat restored and 200,000
trees planted benchmarks; and the West River project,
which under the management by Dr. Edmund
Halfyard has completed 2 years of helicopter liming
that benefit the river and the surrounding forest for
years to come and saw the installation of a second
lime dosing tower. Be sure to watch out for celebrations
this spring for both initiatives. There has also
been a renewed interest in our Fish Friends program,
with NSSA director Stephen Booth and new member
Tim McGee trying to expand and seeking new support
for the program.
Other activities this past year include meeting with
various DFO departments in both the Maritime and
Gulf regions, meeting with provincial fisheries, liaising
with stakeholders, and working on issues such as
aquaculture. With regards to DFO we have been
busy on several fronts the main three being the
changes to the Fisheries Act, the proposed Marine
Protected Area on the Eastern Shore that could be
extended to the St. Mary’s River, and meeting to discuss
a proposed management change from conservation
limit system (minimum egg deposition model)
to an upper and lower limit reference point system
(phased management model based on the precautionary
approach and a river by river management
approach). Currently this system is only being applied
in the Gulf Region, and even then, it will only be
tested initially in the Miramachi, but as this system
was one of the adopted recommendations by the Ministerial
Advisory Committee we expect that it will soon
be applied more widely. Of course, there were many
(many, many) other meetings as well but those few
were the most time consuming and the ones that may
impact upon the St. Mary’s
As the Nova Scotia Regional Salmon Council for the
Atlantic Salmon Federation, we have also worked
hard to represent our stakeholders and NS issues on
the national and international stage. Recently I travelled
to New York to provide the Atlantic Salmon Federation
US and Canadians Board of Directors an update
on salmon activities and issues in Nova Scotia.
During the presentation I was able to highlight the
work that has been done by the St. Mary’s River Association.
Through our affiliation with ASF we can
bring our concerns and the concerns of our affiliates
to much greater prominence. Through ASF and our
programs and initiatives we will continue to support
work on behalf of our affiliates. Please feel free to
reach out to us at anytime and I hope to see you out
at our AGM on March 24 th at the Courtyard Marriott in
Halifax and our spring celebrations.
Kris Hunter
NSSA President (and former SMRA director)