Back from the brink: Wild salmon return to inner Bay of Fundy following efforts led by Fort Folly First Nation
The Inner Bay of Fundy wild salmon population, which collapsed in the 1990s, is experiencing an apparent rebound following efforts led by Amlamgog, also called Fort Folly First Nation.
To mark the return of the endangered wild salmon this season, a ceremony is taking place to bless the waters for their safe passage at Alma Beach today, National Indigenous Peoples Day.
Tim Robinson, director of Fort Folly Habitat Recovery, credited the leadership of the small Mi’kmaw community with ensuring the survival of wild salmon in the inner Bay of Fundy.
“Chief Rebecca [Knockwood] speaks of salmon as being traditionally, culturally one of those iconic species that’s so important to the First Nations peoples across Canada and the non-Indigenous people as well,” Robinson said in an interview with CHMA.
“People want salmon back in their rivers,” he said. “And, you know, we’re determined to do our part and make that happen, and it’s just not acceptable to be inactive.”
Listen to the report from CHMA:
Wild salmon saw a major decline throughout the Atlantic region starting in the 1980s, particularly in the area known as the inner Bay of Fundy, which includes some 50 watersheds north of the Wolastoq River.
That population has been listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act since 2003. … Continue