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New Brunswick rivers have reopened.
“This time in the season there’s usually no more concern for warm water [in New Brunswick],” said David Roth, ASF’s Program Director for the province.
Even though August can feel like peak summer, the sun is already setting nearly an hour earlier than it did last month.
“You start getting cool nights again,” David said. “That is usually why you don’t have warm water closures anymore.”
Conditions had actually already improved enough to be able to re-open these New Brunswick rivers, but they were kept closed for other reasons.
“This closure was especially long due to the circumstances that we now have. Not because of the warm water protocol, but because of the closure of the Crown land,” David said. “That never happened before.”
This means we can safely plan to get back on the water in New Brunswick. This will soon be the same for the rest of the Atlantic regions, as we’re starting to come into the fall fisheries.
In this week’s Rivernotes, we have a reminder of the rivers in Newfoundland and Labrador that will be closing the first part of September, and other rivers that will be opening for the fall season around the same time.
We have good news from Quebec and New Brunswick. We have a first-hand story from a recent fishing trip in Labrador. And we have submissions from an interesting project that’s creating genetic profiles of juvenile salmon on the Grey River in Newfoundland.
Conditions are also good enough for restoration to continue in places like Prince Edward Island, Maine, and Nova Scotia.
And in keeping with the trend this year, more data about higher than expected grilse returns continues to come in.
It may not seem like it, but the seasons are changing in Newfoundland and Labrador. ASF’s Program Director for Newfoundland and Labrador, Kim Thompson reminds us of the upcoming end of summer angling on some rivers in the province, and the opening of the fall seasons on others. She writes:
“With the coming Labour Day weekend, it’s hard to believe that the summer recreational angling season for most scheduled salmon rivers on the island will be closing on September 7th. However, the summer angling season continues in Labrador until September 15th, and the fall angling season for the Gander River, Exploits River and the Humber River extends from September 8th until October 7th. For specific angling details, please refer to DFO NL Anglers Guide 2025-2026.
And what a season it has been! Low water levels, high water temperatures, and forest fires have dominated much of this year. What does this all mean for Atlantic salmon? If you missed the answer to what a few degrees higher in water temperatures signifies to Atlantic salmon and why there are warm water river protocols check out the answers provided in ASF – Rivernotes July 24, 2025 by our VP of Research and Environment, Valérie Ouellet.”
We also have a submissions from Robert Bishop with a synopsis of his recent angling trip to Labrador:
“Just back from six days on the Flowers River in northern Labrador. The river is at the lowest level anyone can remember, making for difficult conditions for getting around the river and accessing the pools; however, the water level was still more than sufficient to allow the salmon to run. Water temperatures were excellent, ranging from a high of 17°C at the beginning of the week to a low of 10°C one morning. There were lots of fresh salmon running up and catches were mostly bright fish — some with sea lice still attached. The mornings were chilly, with air temperatures in the low to mid single digits and this undoubtedly affected catches as hook ups increased as the air temperatures rose through the day.”
The ASF Communication and Research teams were also recently in Newfoundland and Labrador working on a project to create genetic profiles of juvenile salmon. Val Ouellet, ASF’s Vice-President Research & Environment writes:
“The communication and research teams did an important survey in August on the Grey River in NFLD. They electrofished for juvenile Atlantic salmon to gather small tissue samples that will be analyzed to create genetic profiles of the fish. This will provide key information on genetic diversity, and also help understand if farmed escapes have mixed with wild fish. This mixing can have bad consequences for wild populations. The team had to deal with low flow, sites difficult to access, and other logistics. It was quite an adventure!”
In Maine, a new culvert is being installed that will finalize renewed access to the ocean for the entire West Branch Machias River. John Burrows, ASF’s Vice President of U.S. Operations, writes:
“Our good friends at Project SHARE are in the process of constructing a massive new culvert near the outlet of Burnt Land Lake in the West Branch of the Machias River. The new crossing is a 32.5-foot wide, 60-foot long open-bottom plate arch, which is a significant improvement over the three 4-foot wide metal culverts formerly at the site! This project will restore access to 4.4 miles and 612 acres of habitat in the headwaters of the West Branch Machias. SHARE previously completed several dozen crossing projects in this sub-watershed with support from NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Once completed, 100% of Atlantic salmon habitat in the West Branch Machias will be connected with the ocean.”
Things are looking up for Quebec. With some rain, and the increase grilse returns, ASF’s Program Director for Quebec, Charles Cusson, has good news for us. He also had the opportunity to witness the start of the first Headwaters project in Quebec. He writes:
“Une poignée de rivières ont reçu suffisamment de pluie pour augmenter le débit, ce qui aidera salmo à faire face aux conditions actuelles. Les cours d’eau comme la Cascapédia, Matane, Matapédia, Mitis et La Malbaie dans la région de Charlevoix connaissent des augmentations importantes des montaisons de madeleineaux.
Parmi ces rivières, les conditions sur la Cascapédia se sont considérablement améliorées et devraient produire un succès de pêche très amélioré pour ceux qui vont la visiter prochainement.
Depuis le dernier numéro d’Échos des rivières, j’ai visité la rivière Petit-Saguenay avec Martin Silverstone, rédacteur en chef de notre magazine primé « Atlantic Salmon Journal ». Nous avons rencontré une équipe de biologistes de la FQSA (Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique) qui débutaient leurs travaux dans le cadre du premier projet de l’initiative « Headwaters » parrainé par la FSA au Québec.
Si Dame Nature parvient à maintenir (avec l’aide possible d’une tempête venant des régions plus au sud) un élan pour améliorer les conditions de nos rivières, ce serait une excellente façon d’amorcer la saison automnale sur nos rivières.
J’espère vous voir le long d’une rivière pendant le mois de septembre et n’hésiter pas de partager vos expériences de pêches, vos observations et vos photos pendant le restant de la saison 2025.”
English:
“A handful of rivers have received enough rain to increase flows which will help salmo cope with the current conditions. Watercourses like the Cascapedia, Matane, Matapedia, Mitis, and the Malbaie in the Charlevoix region are having important increases in grilse returns. Of these rivers, the Cascapedia angling conditions have dramatically improved and should produce decent angler success.
Since the last issue of Rivernotes, I visited the Petit-Saguenay River with Martin Silverstone, editor of the Atlantic Salmon Journal. We met up with a team of biologists from the FQSA (Fédération Québécoise pour le saumon atlantique) who were starting work as part of the first ASF Headwaters project in Quebec.
If nature can maintain a momentum to improve conditions for our salmon (with the possible help of a storm from more southern regions), it would be a wonderful way to start off the autumn season on our rivers.
Until then, I hope to meet you along a river during the month of September and please don’t hesitate to send me details of your fishing experiences and photos during the 2025 season.”
David Roth, ASF’s New Brunswick Program Director, shares good news from the province. Rain and cooler temperatures have helped with the wildfires and have contributed to the lifting of warm water protocols and restrictions on crown land access. He also has more reports of significant increases in grilse returns in the province. He writes:
“Since our last NB update, the wildfire situation in New Brunswick temporarily worsened before it began to calm down again. According to provincial reports from last Sunday, there were still 17 active wildfires, with four burning out of control.
Under these special circumstances, DFO had decided on the 21st of August to extend the warm water protocol for the Miramichi, Nepisiguit, and Restigouche rivers, even though water temperatures would normally have allowed a reopening earlier in the week.
DFO stated: “In light of the crown land closures due to the extreme wildfire hazard in the province of New Brunswick along with ongoing low water levels, a decision has been made to maintain the angling closures that are currently in effect for portions of the Miramichi, Nepisiguit and Restigouche Rivers subject to the Warm Water Protocols.”
Fortunately, we have since received much-needed rain and a more favorable forecast, leading to the reopening of the rivers for angling on August 26. This reopening coincided with the government’s announcement that restrictions on New Brunswick Crown land were lifted at midnight on August 25. While this news is welcomed, the situation remains precarious. A province-wide burn ban is still in effect, and the province urges everyone to exercise utmost caution to help safeguard our cherished natural resources.
Regarding current fish numbers, we have a new update from the fish lift at Mactaquac Dam on the Wolastoq River. Similar to the previous Rivernotes, which mentioned the Nashwaak River counts, the numbers at the dam show extremely strong returns of grilse this season. To date, 367 fish have been collected, of which 353 are grilse and 14 are salmon. This trend is also reflected at the Dungarvon barrier fence latest report, where 68 out of 93 fish counted are grilse. Additionally, the Northwest Miramichi barrier fence recorded that the majority of the 67 fish counted were grilse.
As mentioned in the update from our research team, ASF’s VP of Research and Environment, Valérie Ouellet, together with GINU and SCAS, also recently hosted a workshop in Fredericton on the use of thermal infrared (TIR) imagery to locate and protect critical cold-water refuges for salmon. With experts from Canada, the UK, and the US sharing their knowledge, the training provided tools to better identify and conserve these essential habitats.
The timing could not be more relevant: with ongoing wildfires, rivers under stress, and the impacts of a warming climate becoming clearer each season, this type of work is vital to building resilience for salmon and other cold-water species. We are fortunate that New Brunswick is home to some of the world’s leading efforts in this field.”
Staff from the Nepisiguit Salmon Association were doing their best to help fight the nearby wildfires. They delivered food, equipment, and people throughout the province, and monitored and transcribed radio transmissions. Rick Watling, the President of the Nepisiguit Salmon Association wrote:
“Thought I would share this with everyone. Could not do much field work but had a highly motivated and willing crew. Thought we would offer our services to help in the firefighting of the wildfires in our area.
Hoping for rain as I think this is our only hope of getting some of these fires under control.”
Research and Wild Salmon Watershed teams were being trained on some new aerial imaging technology. Aaron Clausen, ASF’s Environmental Georgrapher, writes:
“Airspace above ASF HQ has been busy.
Drone pilots from the Research and Wild Salmon Watershed teams spent a week training with instructors from YellowScan and RMUS.
They were introduced to the DeltaQuad Evo – a fixed wing VTOL drone capable of long-range flights – and got familiar with the capture and processing of LiDAR datasets.
The team is eager to continue testing this equipment and preparing for the thermal and terrain river mapping ahead of us!”
Conservation work continues on Prince Edward Island, despite the persisting warm and dry weather. ASF’s Regional Director for Wild Salmon Watersheds & Program Director for Prince Edward Island, writes:
“This past week I spent some time on PEI touching base with some of the salmon conservation efforts that are happening there. Like elsewhere, the province needs rain, but thanks to a strong ground water influence of many of PEI’s rivers, the effect of the recent drought hasn’t been as severe as other parts of Atlantic Canada. As a result, conservation work hasn’t been heavily impacted, so I was able to spend a great couple of days with Souris Wildlife, Canadian Wildlife Federation, and the Morell River Management Co-op doing some bathymetry work on key ponds, identifying critical habitat, which ended up getting featured on CBC.
We also did some fish passage assessments as part of an ongoing collaboration to develop priorities using CWF’s Watershed Connectivity Restoration Program. While there I also got to visit our Headwater’s sites that were mitigated last year. Both locations are looking fantastic. Salmon redds were found upstream of one of the sites, demonstrating the benefits the work has had. I am excited to see what is in store for this year’s Headwaters projects.”
Nicholas MacInnis, the Manager of Restoration Programs for the Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA), has another submission for us this week about some restoration work. He writes:
“On the St Mary’s River this week, the St. Mary’s River Association with support from DFO’s Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Fund tackled a high priority site on the East River St Mary’s.
This project addressed a several decade old issue created by channel dredging and straightening that took place in the 1950s when bulldozing streams for agriculture and road construction was, unfortunately, all too common. Not only was this site straightened by a bulldozer but a large berm was constructed on the banks, preventing the river from accessing the floodplain — a critically important process for river stability. Over the past several days the berm was removed and a new, gradually sloping bank was installed.”
