Facts: As recently as the late 1980s there were 40,000 adult inner Bay Atlantic salmon Now there are about 200 adults left Commercial fishing was ended in 1984 Angling ended in 1989, except for the Gaspereau River (that ended in 1996) In the 1980s and 1990s the major factors affecting iBoF salmon appear to be at sea While inner Bay of Fundy salmon runs have traditionally experienced "boom and bust events", at least since 1870, there is no sign of a recovery from the present critical decline

For centuries, First Nations people fished Atlantic salmon sustainably in upper Bay of Fundy rivers. Later many Fundy residents relied on a local commercial fishery from the 1800s. By the time commercial salmon fishing closed in 1984, the annual average catch from this more intensive type of fishery had fallen from about 4000 salmon to about 200!

Some people have suggested that overfishing might be the cause of dropping salmon populations. After all, salmon fishing has always been an important part of the culture and history of the upper Bay of Fundy, and a great number of these fish have been taken out of the Bay.

There's also been a long-standing tradition of angling for salmon on rivers such as the Big Salmon and the Stewiacke. Each year, an average of almost 1500 salmon were caught by anglers, and the fishery was worth more than a quarter of a million dollars annually. As salmon populations around the Bay fell, the recreational fishery was cut back, and all rivers in the upper Bay have been closed to fishing since 1990.

Conventional fisheries management wisdom suggests that populations should rebound when a fishery is closed. But, populations of wild salmon have not recovered. In fact, since 1989, wild iBoF salmon have plummeted - dropping 90% or more. Although there is currently no commercial fishery for wild Atlantic salmon in North America, some salmon are still being caught, unintentionally, as bycatch in fisheries for shad and herring. >