N.B. salmon group wants policy fine-tuned

A New Brunswick salmon conservation group says the federal Fisheries Department needs to clarify its policy on closing salmon pools.

Fisheries and Oceans closed a dozen pools on the Miramichi River last week and the week before because the heat was putting stress on salmon.

But the Miramichi Salmon Association says the closures should have happened earlier, when the river was warming up under a hot spell.

"It came a little late this time," said Mark Hambrook, president of the association. "It should have been in effect a few weeks ago."

By the time the pools were closed, cool rains had started to raise water levels again and lower the temperatures, so the conditions for salmon improved.

"I think it was a good strategy, we just have to work out the details," Hambrook said. 

The cooler weather has brought salmon back, Miramichi anglers say.

"The temperature is cooler and the water's cooler," fisherman Tony O'Donnell said. "So [fishing] should be all right now, I would think."

In late June, Fisheries and Oceans imposed a catch-and-release policy for salmon on the Northwest Miramichi River.

Over the past decade, parts of the Miramichi River have failed to meet the spawning requirements for a healthy salmon population. Last year, only 34 per cent of the required number of eggs needed to preserve a healthy population were present.