West River salmon restocking efforts already a success: watershed group

There's a lot of hope riding on the tiny salmon entering the West River in P.E.I.

The local watershed group, along with the Abegweit Hatchery, hasbeen restocking a part of the West River that was oncefull of Atlantic salmon.

The group hasseen success so far from its efforts, and it's hoping itcontinues for many years to come.

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"What we've seen over the last four or five years is a slow increase in the numbers of Atlantic salmon," said Daryl Guignion, who's with the Central Queens Wildlife Federation.

The salmon spend two years in the fresh water of the West River before heading out to sea, he said, andif all goes well the first of the restocked fish should be coming back to spawn this year.

"If you're a salmon fisherman and you think of restoring salmon to rivers where they hadn't been, or been very scarce, it's exceedingly exciting," he said.

"The future looks really good We have a success story already because the salmon we have put in have survived."

Rosie MacFarlane, a fisheries biologist with the government, said small salmon fry don't have to stay as long in the hatchery, which cuts down on the cost of restocking.

It's a very proud moment for us, we're proud of what we do at the hatchery inScotchford. Chief Brian Francis

She also said that the fish don't have as much wear on their fins from being in tanks.

"This is stocking of fry that are just hatched out, so they're quite small," she said.

"They putsmall numbers of these fry directly into the ideal habitat and so we're hoping that this will show that this is a successful technique for us to use in other rivers on P.E.I."

'It's nice to give back to Mother Nature'

TheMacLauchlangovernment provides more than $50,000a year for theAbegweitHatcherytosupport the Island'srecreational fishery.

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AbegweitFirst Nation Chief Brian Francis said the hatchery has grown "quite rapidly" as they've hired more staff and are looking at an expansion with outdoor tanks and more.

He said "the sky's the limit" for the future of the hatchery and the success of the restocking efforts in the West River so far isproofthat they're "doing the right thing."

"It's a very proud moment for us, we're proud of what we do at the hatchery in Scotchford and it's nice to give back to Mother Nature in this way," hesaid.

"And I always say it's a venture we'll never get rich on but it's the right thing to do for us as Mi'kmaq people."

Depending on what happens in the West River, salmon fry could someday be heading to other rivers across Prince Edward Island as well.

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