Finally some good news to report. The high water and cooler water temperatures seems to have brought in some new fish to the system. The Millerton trap was pulled on the weekend due to high water but was put back in on Monday with 4 fish caught Tuesday and 11 salmon and 11 grilse caught yesterday. Cassilis also had 3 salmon yesterday which is good news after a lot of zeros. And all of the fish were fresh with sea lice! This supports the reports I have been getting all week of people catching fish on the Southwest and the Northwest. We just wonder how many would have been caught on the weekend had the traps been in. Looks like the fall run has begun!

The Northwest Barrier saw an increase of 8 fish during the week of Aug 11th – 17th – all grilse.

Northwest Barrier as of August 17th 2014

	Grilse (to 63cm)	Small Salmon (64-84 cm)	Large Salmon (>85 cm)	Total Small & Large Salmon	All Atlantic    Salmon	Brook Trout
2014 to Date	130	38	20	58	188	790
Previous Year to Date	140	92	104	196	336	1068

The Dungarvon Barrier also showed a slight increase – 4 grilse and two large salmon made their way to the barrier.

	Grilse (to 63cm)	Small Salmon (64-84 cm)	Large Salmon (>85 cm)	Total Small & Large Salmon	All Atlantic    Salmon	Brook Trout
2014 to Date	68	15	41	56	124	27
Previous Year to Date	190	92	129	221	411	59

 

Dungarvon Barrier as of August 17th 2014

Hopefully next week’s numbers will confirm the fall run.

DFO publishes the Northwest and Millerton trap and the Northwest barrier numbers on their website as of the middle and end of each month. The cumulative numbers as of the middle of August are shown below. You can find a link to this site on our Home Page under Quick Links.

Cumulative counts to date of Salmon as of Aug 15th 2014

Site	Average 1996-2000	Average 2001-2005	Average 2006-2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Northwest Protection Barrier	151	135	149	205	120	196	58
Northwest Cassilis Trapnet	*	172	197	373	166	155	41
Southwest Millerton Trapnet	186	447	499	581	446	298	185

Cumulative counts to date of Grilse as of Aug 15th 2014

Site	Average 1996-2000	Average 2001-2005	Average 2006-2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Northwest Protection Barrier	451	392	430	581	124	140	128
Northwest Cassilis Trapnet	*	737	776	1050	237	364	61
Southwest Millerton Trapnet	685	1682	1428	1734	437	407	283

(* indicates fewer than 5 years are available to calculate the mean)

1964 MSA Contest Winners
A copy of the Daily Gleaner printed on June 4th 1964 arrived in the office this week courtesy of Rick Cunjak. On page 17 was a great story entitled Miramichi Salmon Association’s 1964 Contest Concludes. Many of the winners names are current friends of the MSA and of special note is the eight year old winner – Debbie Blackmore of Sillikers – turns out to be none other than MSA Director Debbie Norton, a now retired teacher who runs Upper Oxbow Outdoor Adventures in Sillikers. To read the full story go to http://miramichisalmon.ca/1964-msa-contest-winners/

Hatchery Renovations
Hatchery renovations are almost complete with the final electrical work being done and the tanks in the big greenhouse being painted. The recirculation system is ready to flip the switch but we will do lots of testing before we are up and running in all buildings. Very exciting!

Fredericton Dinner
The 19th Annual Fredericton Conservation Dinner is taking place Tuesday, September 16th at Fredericton Inn, where we are again honouring an individual who has served the cause of salmon conservation with great distinction. It is both a pleasure and an honour to receive the Hon. Keith Ashfield, Member of Parliament for Fredericton and past Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as our special guest, and we look forward to his message regarding the importance of the wild Atlantic salmon to New Brunswick, both in economic and environmental terms. For tickets, please contact Jo-Anne Linton at jo-anne@miramichisalmon.ca; or call 506-457-2220.

A Call for Submissions
The SalmonLetter welcomes submissions from its readers. One of the contributions this publication can make to the conservation of the Miramichi salmon is to collect river stories to record the history of the river. These stories (and photos) may assist in the scientific work on the river and will help to unite the conservation community throughout the watershed. Please send submissions to jo-anne@miramichisalmon.ca

A Call for Auction Items
The MSA has up to seven fund-raising dinners annually and we would sincerely appreciate any donation of auction items from members. Handmade items such as flies, wood and other craft items, prints, old fishing tackle, etc. All donations will be acknowledged by a tax receipt for the reasonable value and will count towards Life Sponsorship levels. Please contact jo-anne@miramichisalmon.ca to make a donation.

The MSA Staff is here to serve and work with you, and we welcome any comments, criticisms and recommendations you have to offer. We enjoy meeting MSA members whenever we have the chance to do so. Please always feel free to contact us whenever we can be assistance.