NSSA – OCEANS NORTH

Founded in 1963, the Nova Scotia Salmon Association has been a leading volunteer organization promoting the wise management and conservation of our wild Atlantic salmon and trout stocks. The NSSA has 1347 individual members, and 17 affiliate organizations spread from Salmon River, Digby Co., NS to the Margaree River in Cape Breton, NS. We support our affiliate associations with local issues, but also focus on addressing issues that are of a provincial nature with widespread implications for fish and angling opportunities. We have implemented solution-based programs to address and several of these provincial-scale issues including: acid precipitation (the West River, Sheet Harbour Acid Mitigation Program), habitat loss and degradation (the Adopt-a-Stream Program), the expansion of aquaculture (co-founder of a multi-stakeholder review committee) and engagement in recreational fisheries issues and fish conservation education and outreach programs.

The NSSA has a long history as a leader in partnerships and training to build conservation capacity within community groups. It is our philosophy that collaboration between those in the freshwater restoration community is the best way to address the widespread threats which impact the wild species and spaces in our region.

The water chemistry data in this dataset eminate from a project, led by the Nova Scotia Salmon Association and supported by Oceans North, that was designed to better understand the current distribution of Atlantic Salmon and characterize the quality of habitat along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. To determine whether the distribution of Atlantic Salmon has changed, we observed the change in status (present/absent) from past electrofishing surveys (up to 2009) to current environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys in 2019. The goals of this project were: (a) to update surveys in freshwater habitat to confirm whether the distribution (number and location of occupied rivers) of Atlantic Salmon in the eastern shore of Nova Scotia has changed since 2009 and (b) to characterize water quality in some eastern shore rivers and link the distribution of Atlantic Salmon to water quality. By doing so, these actions can inform stewardship and restoration activities that support Atlantic Salmon recovery and improve the long-term functioning and health of Nova Scotia’s freshwater ecosystems.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.oceansnorth.org/en/blog/2021/01/edna-offers-a-promising-new-tool-for-science-and-conservation/

https://www.oceansnorth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/eDNA-report_finalOct3_2.pdf