by Sophia Newcombe Fisheries Field Technician, MCG

During the 2021 field season, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq’s ‘Culverts project,’ worked to restore fish passage throughout the Stewiacke watershed. The watershed is listed as critical habitat for the inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) Atlantic salmon.

There are many threats to Atlantic salmon habitat, one of which includes migration barriers. Poorly installed or rundown culverts can act as a barrier to fish passage. These culverts can restrict fish from being able to access areas of the stream that provide food sources and good spawning grounds that may be located upstream. Modifying these culverts can improve fish access to quality habitat. The culverts project completed many activities during the 2021 field season to help restore fish passage.

Around 10 km of habitat was assessed to determine the amount of healthy habitat that is available above and below migration barriers. This is a key factor when deciding which culverts need to be modified to create access for fish species.

Invasive species surveys were completed to see if chain pickerel were present at any field sites that were selected to have culvert modifications completed. These surveys help to ensure that opening a barrier will not allow further passage of invasive species throughout the watershed. The surveys were completed using two methods: environmental DNA (eDNA) testing and electrofishing.

Four culverts within the Stewiacke watershed were selected to be modified. These si ...

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