Cape Breton Highlands National Park is providing a little help to stabilize the levels of Atlantic
(Photo Charles Cusson, Atlantic Salmon Federation)
Salmon that return every year. Since 2019 the park has collected juvenile salmon from Clyburn Brook in the spring for adult rearing. Resource Management Officer Sarah Penney says it’s working with Dalhousie University’s Aquatron Laboratory who raise the smolt to maturity. Penney says the goal is to help grow the Atlantic Salmon population to a more sustainable level.
This spring, almost 600 juvenile salmon were counted and 150 of those were sent to Dalhousie for rearing. This is the last year juvenile salmon will be collected from the brook for the project.
The first salmon from Clyburn Brook collected in 2019 are scheduled to be released in the brook as adults this fall.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park is working with four other national parks in the region to study the Atlantic Salmon population and their habitat.