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With a break in the warm weather, some warm water protocols have been lifted on Atlantic Canadian rivers, like the Miramichi. But others, like the Margaree in Cape Breton and several in Newfoundland and Labrador, remain closed. A couple warm, or cold, days can change all of this.
It may seem trivial that a few degrees trigger drastic changes, but just like when your 3-year-old climbs up the couch to change the thermostat when you’re not looking—for the fourth time—you can quickly feel the difference.
“It’s physically one or two degrees more, and we’re like ‘oh, it’s so warm here,'” said Valérie Ouellet, ASF Vice-President of Research and Environment. “In a way, it’s the same for the fish.”
But it’s a little more severe than just an uncomfortable living room for salmon.
Valérie said there have been studies that show mortalities around 23°C-24°C, in laboratory conditions, when all other variables are perfect. That’s not the case in a river.
“Depending on their condition, depending on the oxygen in the water, all that stuff, that can start putting stress on the fish,” she said. “Any additional stress can become too much.”
Salmon will clearly start moving out of the mainstem of rivers for the cold water refuges. In some cases this will start as low as 17°C-18°C. Counterintuitively, during warm summers, it seems like their tolerance even goes down some.
“That’s why the 20°C, when they start thinking about the warm water protocol, it’s quite conservative,” Valérie said. “It’s because we’re trying to keep the balance of keeping the fish healthy, and also having people on the river.”
Warm water protocols differ by river, but are generally triggered when the water temperature remains above a specific temperature for a prolonged period. It also requires a council to meet and make a decision, which can end up being slightly delayed at times.
“Most anglers, they know the river, they know the fish. So if they feel it’s getting warm, and it’s not a warm water protocol yet, reducing the fighting time, minimizing the handling time, all that stuff is just best practice to reduce the impact on the fish,” Valérie said. “It’s especially important when it’s getting warmer.”
Especially during the peak of summer, be sure to check the DFO website for notices before getting out on the rivers:
The Gulf Region | Newfoundland and Labrador
In this week’s edition of Rivernotes, we have reports of warm weather contributing to fires and river closures in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Cape Breton. Slightly cooler temperatures have led to some reopenings in New Brunswick.
We have a report about river restoration projects in Maine, studies on the impact of water temperatures on 2-year-old parr on the Little Southwest Miramichi, electrofishing on the Chéticamp River, and the installation of a resistance board weir fence on Prince Edward Island.
We have river reports from Maine and Quebec. We also have a report from Kim Thompson, ASF’s Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director. She is aboard the Polar Prince on the 2025 Nunatsiavut to Nunavik Expedition with the Students On Ice.
We also received some photo submissions of salmon caught in Labrador, and all the way over in Norway.
This week we have a submission from another continent. Chris Buckley, ASF (U.S.) Director Emeritus, was fishing in Norway last week, and sent us some photos. He wrote:
“I just returned from two weeks of fishing on the fabled Alta River in Arctic Norway. The river was in prime condition and yielded some very big salmon. At least one weighed over 50 pounds and more than a dozen others exceeded 40 pounds.
ASF member Ed Shugrue landed and released a 52-pound male on July 6. My daughter Marisa Nessier caught and released a 41-pound male at the famous Sandiagoski Pool on July 4. This was her first 40-pound Atlantic salmon.
ASF members Mollie and Mike Fitzgerald, Jonathan Winthrop, Mary Barley, Bo Ivanovic, Hardwick Caldwell and Remy Trafelet have also been on the Alta this year. Unlike the salmon runs in many of Norway’s western rivers, the run on the Alta, located on Norway’s north coast, remains strong and is well managed by Alta Laksefiskeri Interessentskap (“ALI”), the syndicate of riparian landowners that is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year.”
ASF’s research team has been tracking 2-year-old parr on the Southwest Miramichi. They have temperature-sending radio tags that are providing valuable data after the stretch of warm weather over the last couple weeks. Heather Perry, ASF’s Biologist / Research Scientist, writes:
“Last week was a hot one for the Catamaran Brook crew and the fish in the Little Southwest Miramichi.
River temperatures reached 30°C, forcing its thermally sensitive inhabitants—like the 2yr-old salmon parr we have been tracking—to find patches of cold water, or perish.
Cold water anomalies are created at the confluence of small shaded tributaries, at small spring fed brooks, and where groundwater seeps in along the banks and riverbed.
Not all cold water anomalies serve as refuges for fish, and their utility may depend on dissolved oxygen, flow, shelter, and access to food.
However, with temperatures like last week, it is life or death for salmon parr, and we found parr keeping cool in some unexpected places. It seemed many settled for the nearest available patch, rather than risking their lives in search of what we believe would be ‘optimal’ habitat.
The crew has been tracking 42 2-year-old parr carrying temperature-sending radio tags since early June. We’ve maintained 16 stationary receivers continuously monitoring tagged parr along a ~ 20km stretch of the Little Southwest Miramichi River and completed at least one active tracking survey through the study reach each week to add resolution to our tracks.
Under agreeable conditions, most parr establish small territories that they occupy through much of their freshwater residency. However, when temperatures become stressful they tolerate much closer quarters as they pile into coveted cold water refuges.
The crew completed 3 active tracking surveys through the study reach last week to follow the fish closely as they felt and responded to the extremely stressful temperatures.
We return this week to find our fish again and hopefully learn how those that survive recover from the heat stress and where they settle for the remainder of the summer.
These efforts will contribute to a deeper understanding of cold water refuge demands and accessibility to inform their effective protection and restoration.
I’d like to thank the students Alex Haynes Macdonald and Drew Saxon (from UNB) and Siobhan Hourihan from Dalhousie for their work and the New Brunswick wildlife trust fund that funded the radio tags.”
A new method of counting and monitoring adult fish has been installed on Prince Edward Island. Jordan Condon, ASF’s Science Coordinator for Wild Salmon Watersheds, gives us some context about the resistance board weir fence being operated by the Central Queens Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation (CQWF):
“It’s been an exciting field season for the Central Queens Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation (CQWF). Typically, their field season focuses on in-stream restoration activities. While continuing this important restoration work, they’ve shifted focus toward monitoring adult fish counts by implementing a floating resistance board weir fence in conjunction with a Riverwatcher camera setup.
This new-to-them technology uses a camera tunnel equipped with infrared scanners to track upstream and downstream fish movement. Unlike a traditional fish trap—which requires daily manual checking, counting, and measuring—the Riverwatcher allows fish to migrate freely while automatically recording key information (including timestamp, temperature, fish length, and video footage). This approach provides comparable data to traditional trapping methods but without the need for physically handling fish, and significantly reduces manual labor, as data can simply be downloaded at regular intervals.
The resistance board weir fence itself is the first to be installed on PEI. Its design is particularly well-suited for high-water events, as it allows debris to pass over the structure, reducing the risk of the fence being compromised.
CQWF has worked tirelessly to prepare and equip the site with this new fence system. To gain first-hand experience, the team participated in a site visit to the Upsalquitch River, organized by ASF’s New Brunswick Program Director David Roth. Thanks to Mario from the Canadian Rivers Institute, CQWF was able to borrow components from an existing resistance board weir fence for the first year of the project. This will serve as a template to build their own fence panels in the future. Crucial funding and support from the PEI Watershed Alliance were also instrumental in making the project possible.
This project represents a major undertaking for CQWF, made possible through collaboration among several partners. The data collected will provide invaluable insight into local fish community populations, improve fisheries management, and support a range of regulatory and academic uses.”
ASF’s Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director Kim Thompson is still on the 2025 Nunatsiavut to Nunavik Expedition with the Students On Ice (SOI) Foundation. But first, Kim provides us with some updates the province, where hot and dry weather has been contributing to forest fires, and some angling restrictions. She writes:
“The hot dry summer continues and according to the provincial wildfire dashboard, as of Tuesday there are five fires burning across Newfoundland and Labrador, three of which are listed as burning out of control, including the Musgrave Harbour and Chance Harbour fires. The other fire burning out of control is the Winokapu fire in Labrador. To date there have been 179 fires this season. For the latest forest fire hazards info and how to stay safe visit Forest Fire Season – Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.
With low water levels and high-water temperatures on rivers, DFO continues to issue a Notice to Anglers for Salmon Fishing Areas advising of restricted morning angling until 10am, full river closures and/or reopening of rivers to angling. For more information, please visit the In Season River Status website at DFO-Newfoundland and Labrador Region / MPO-Région de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association Director Darryl Reardon reports from the Lower Eagle River where he spent 6 days fishing with 3 friends.
‘The river was really high, and fishing was slow until the last couple days as the water level dropped off,’ he wrote.
Bob Brown, who runs a camp on the Eagle, has water level marks on the cliff by his cabin. The marks go to 11 feet, and he said the river rose 1.5 feet above the 11-foot mark.
‘It was showing 6 feet on day one when we arrived and went to 4 feet the day we left,’ he wrote. ‘We managed to hook 30 fish between the four of us in 6 days. We saw hundreds jump and porpoise through the week but couldn’t manage to fly many.’
Students On Ice
My colleagues Aimee, Andrew and I continue our expedition journey with Students On Ice. Since arriving on the Polar Prince our days are filled with immersive workshops with session topics ranging from global and indigenous-led conservation, highlighting efforts like ‘30×30’ — a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean as protected areas by 2030, fly tying lead by ASF Campaign Director Andrew Clarke, cultural practices, and beading and sewing rooted in Inuit tradition.
Off ship, zodiac excursions have included visiting Kauk Bay and Conch Bay. Elders making bannock and sand bread over an open fire, fishing for arctic char, and hiking with bear guards, deepened our relationship to each other, and nature and its biodiversity through traditional knowledge.
These immersive experiences, whether on ship, on the water, or on land, not only foster a sense of joy and belonging but also highlight the importance of conservation and honoring traditional knowledge in how we engage with the natural world. Celebrating the spirit of collaboration with the next generation of stewards, as they explore and awaken their sense of discovery embodies the SOI spirit. “Team Salmon,” as my colleagues and I are referred to, are very thankful to be part of this transformative journey.”
Some Quebec rivers are already reporting more returning fish than all of last year. As we wait for mid-season assessments, Charles Cusson, ASF’s Quebec Program Director, provides us with some river reports:
“Les différentes régions salmonicoles du Québec continuent de partager des nouvelles encourageantes. D’ici la fin de la semaine prochaine, si les conditions le permettent, les évaluations de mi-saison auront eu lieu.
Les gestionnaires de la rivière Mitis, qui se jette dans le Saint-Laurent juste à l’est de Mont-Joli, indique un décompte qui dépasse au total de poissons ayant migré jusqu’au 21 juillet 2025 que toute la saison précédente jusqu’au 30 septembre. Cela comprend une très bonne augmentation du nombre de madeleineaux et une baisse attendue du nombre de saumons ayant passé deux ans en mer.
Un peu plus à l’est, le long de la rive nord de la Gaspésie, la Matane connait également une résurgence des madeleineaux. Comme sur le Mitis, le Matane a dépassé le nombre de poissons ayant migré par la passe migratoire pendant l’entièreté de la saison de 2024.
Les pêcheurs qui pêchent les rivières Matapédia et Patapédia profitent d’une très bonne pêche en raison des niveaux d’eau et des températures productifs jusqu’à maintenant. Les retours de madeleineaux sont également très encourageants et des poissons plus grandes tailles ont fait sentir leur présence dans le secteur Glen Emma de la Matapédia.
Une fois les données de mi-saison seront disponibles, je publierai un tableau comparatif aux années précédentes à la mi-saison.
Au plaisir de se voir le long d’une rivière cet été et n’hésiter pas de partager vos expériences de pêches, vos observations et vos photos pendant la saison 2025.”
Charles also provided his report in English:
“Encouraging news continues to be shared from different salmon regions in Quebec. By the end of next week, conditions permitting, the mid-season assessments will have taken place.
The Mitis River, which flows into the St-Lawrence just east of Mont-Joli, has more fish in total which have migrated back to July 21, 2025, than all last season to September 30th. This includes a very healthy increase in the number of grilse and the expected drop in the number of two-sea winter salmon.
A little bit further east along the north shore of the Gaspé, the Matane is also having a resurgence of grilse. As on the Mitis, the Matane has surpassed last year’s number of fish that migrated through the fishway.
Anglers fishing the Matapedia and Patapedia rivers are enjoying very good fishing due to productive water levels and temperatures to date. Grilse returns are also very encouraging and larger fish have made their presence felt in the Glen Emma sector of the Matapedia.
Once the mid-season data is available, I will publish a comparative graph to previous years to put this season into context.
I wish you Tight Lines and memorable experiences with Salmo this summer. Until then, I hope to meet you along a river this summer and please don’t hesitate to send me details of your fishing experiences and photos during the 2025 season.”
In Maine, Catherine Morse, an ASF Project Manager, provided some updates on some river restoration projects. ASF was involved in several aspects of these projects. Catherine writes:
“Last week, the Maine team broke ground on two projects on the Katahdin Iron Works Road in Brownville, Maine. Sucker Brook and Bog Brook are tributaries to the West Branch Pleasant River, part of the greater Penobscot Watershed. ASF is working to replace the culverts at both sites with bridge structures, providing better fish passage as well as increased flow capacity during storm events. These projects are part of a comprehensive partnership with the Appalachian Mountain Club to ensure that all stream crossings within designated critical habitat for Atlantic salmon in the watersheds of the Middle Branch and West Branch Pleasant River meet stream smart standards to pass fish and convey major floods.
ASF assisted the Maine Department of Marine Resources with fish evacuation from the construction site. The team set nets upstream and downstream of the crossings and electrofished the waters in between. We found creek chubs, common shiners, northern redbelly dace, and even a few sea lamprey. With restoration, we hope that brook trout, juvenile salmon, and other fish species will utilize these streams and the cold-water habitat they offer.
The KIW Road will remain closed from the Brownville side until the project is completed at the end of September. The road is still accessible from Greenville.”
Colby W. B. Bruchs, a Fisheries Scientist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources provided this report from the Narraguagus River:
“No new salmon since last update. High air temperature and low stream flow has the river temperature hovering around the incipient lethal threshold for adult salmon. As a result, trapping operations have been suspended for much of the summer to date. I will check back in when temperatures recede, and we can operate safely and consistently.”
Jennifer Noll, a Marine Resource Scientist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, provided reports on the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers. She writes:
“This week’s mean air temperatures were similar to the last two weeks’ – which varied between 65 80°Fs. Flow conditions in the lower Kennebec River have been less variable over the past week than the previous week. The low discharge for the week dipped to 2,080 cfs and the high peaked at 5,440 cfs. Currently the river flow is at 3,990 cfs, which falls between the 25th percentile discharge level (3,430 cfs) and the median discharge level (4,380 cfs) (https://waterdata.usgs.gov, based on 39 years of data).
Lockwood fish lift, located in Waterville, ME at the first dam on the mainstem Kennebec River, opened on May 1st for the 2025 season. The trap has been operational the entire week. Fifty-five new Atlantic salmon have been captured to date; the first two arrived on 5/30. We’ve had a few special appearances so far this year – one wild female 3 sea-winter (89cm) on 6/8 and one wild female long absence repeat spawner (84.5cm) on 6/11. The water temperature has continued to warm – it exceeded the lifting threshold for salmon which is 24.5°C. This occurred three times over the past week; however, temperatures decreased enough at night to run at least for a couple hours in the mornings.
Brunswick fishway, located in Brunswick, ME on the mainstem Androscoggin River, was opened May 1st this year. Flow conditions have continued to be variable for the first part of this past week in the lower Androscoggin River, reaching a low of 2,120 cfs and a high of 5,970 cfs. Currently, the river flow is at 2,230 cfs, which falls between the minimum discharge level (591 cfs) and the 25th percentile discharge of 2,550 cfs (https://waterdata.usgs.gov, based on 96 years of data). The temperature currently ranges between 22.7°C and 25.6°C. The first Atlantic salmon at Brunswick in 2025 showed up on 6/13. ”
Rivers have started partially reopening in New Brunswick this week, but recent warm weather has been impacting anglers and salmon alike. ASF’s New Brunswick Program Director, David Roth, reports on the changes in the rivers, now that they have cooled off some, and some of the unfortunate consequences when salmon congregate in cold-water refuges. He writes:
“Since last week’s Rivernotes, additional Atlantic salmon have been counted at various barrier sites across the province—just before warm weather temporarily impacted many rivers.
Full Warm Water Protocol closures were implemented on both the Miramichi and the Nepisiguit Rivers until this past Tuesday, while the temperatures on the Restigouche River allowed the river to remain open to angling throughout the heat event.
As of Tuesday, the Miramichi has reopened to regular angling hours. As of today, Thursday, the 29 salmon pools across the watershed have also opened. On the Nepisiguit, a section of the river remains restricted to morning angling only.
The timing of the closures appears to have been well placed, helping to protect fish during a particularly stressful temperature period. In addition to adult salmon observed holding in cold-water refuges, juvenile Atlantic salmon were also seen aggregating in these sites. On the Little Southwest Miramichi, where ASF’s Heather Perry is conducting fieldwork for her Master’s research, the team observed several such juvenile aggregations.”
“Unfortunately, despite the protective measures, several mortalities of adult fish have been reported. While some deaths may be directly related to heat stress, there is also a heightened risk of natural predation when fish are concentrated in cold-water plumes. In such areas—depending on size and available cover—fish are more exposed than they would be if they were resting deeper in cooler, shaded pools. Because of this vulnerability, we encourage anglers and river users to avoid getting too close to known cold-water refuge sites, as even well-meaning presence can spook fish, driving them out of the cold into warmer, more stressful water.”
“Following the partial lifting of closures, anglers reported that river temperatures cooled quickly, thanks to several cold nights. Almost immediately, photos and updates began coming in, with several fish caught under the improved conditions. Grilse numbers continue to appear strong this season, as suggested by ongoing angling reports.”
The Chéticamp River Salmon Association (CRSA) conducted electrofishing surveys in Cape Breton last week. Jordan Condon, ASF’s Science Coordinator for Wild Salmon Watersheds, writes:
“Last week, Cape Breton field crews joined me to continue advancing the objectives of the Wild Salmon Watersheds (WSW) program. The Chéticamp River Salmon Association (CRSA) conducted electrofishing surveys at eight locations on Farm, Fiset, and Aucoin brooks. We used both 3-pass depletion (closed sites) and open net spot checks to help identify which habitat areas salmon are utilizing and to assess overall productivity.
Preliminary results showed that all but one site had multiple age classes of salmon present. However, as expected given the low number of returning adults last spawning season, there were low densities of young-of-the-year salmon. By using a combination of long-term index sites (3-pass closed sites) and spot checks (open sites), field crews can efficiently cover more ground while still tracking relative abundance and trends over time.
Electrofishing surveys rely on strong teamwork, and last week’s effort was a success thanks to local leadership from Jillian, Luka, and Adam (CRSA), as well as much-appreciated support from Luke (NSSA), Dylan (MSA), Stevie (MSA), Michael (MSA), and Deirdre (ASF).
Another key part of the WSW program is habitat surveying. These surveys, when paired with electrofishing results, help provide a more complete picture of habitat productivity and use.
I also spent a day with the Margaree Salmon Association (MSA) conducting Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) surveys on Alder Brook, a tributary of the Margaree River. This summer, the MSA field crew has been busy surveying reaches of Margaree tributaries to assess stream morphology and habitat suitability for salmon, using the Nova Scotia Salmon Association’s HSI methodology.”
