“The Jack T. H. Fenety Scholarship is something we are very proud of. It was established to honour Mr. Fenety’s legendary contribution to the protection and enhancement of Atlantic salmon stocks. His stewardship of the Miramichi River has paralleled the survival of that watershed as one of the most productive sources of salmon stocks in the world.” -Mark Hambrook, Former MSA President
The Miramichi Salmon Association offers a major scholarship for salmon research in honour of its long-time former President, Jack Fenety of Fredericton. This scholarship is awarded each year to a selected graduate student attending a university who is conducting meaningful research about wild Atlantic Salmon, and/or its habitat, which will have relevance for the Miramichi watershed.
The Jack T. H. Fenety Conservation Scholarship was established to support research related to Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi River. Scholarship funding is made available annually to a graduate student conducting research associated with the ecology of Atlantic salmon that would be relevant to the Miramichi River. Research projects should address current issues of the day, which will lead to a better understanding of the relationships between Atlantic salmon and its environment in order to minimize the impacts of human activities and to enhance the abundance and sustainability of the Atlantic salmon resource.
The Miramichi Salmon Association is a conservation group focused on the preservation and enhancement of wild Atlantic salmon throughout its spawning range, and especially in North America’s most abundant Atlantic salmon river, the Miramichi. The MSA, established in 1953, has as its mission statement: management actions to optimize the population of juvenile salmon stocks in the Miramichi River. It is directly involved in collaborative research and management initiatives to benefit the Miramichi River and its Atlantic salmon resources. Financial support for the MSA comes from the volunteer efforts and contributions of its members and sponsors both in Canada and the United States. Our organization maintains a fully operational salmonid culture and research facility with accommodations at the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre, with flow-through and re-circulation systems in support of research activities. The Centre is located on the banks of the Northwest Miramichi River at South Esk, New Brunswick and applicants that plan to utilize this facility will be given priority.
Current Recipient
Congratulations to our 2024 Jack T.H. Fenety Scholarship recipient, Alex Morgan!
"My name is Alex Morgan, and I am honored to be the 2024 recipient of the Jack T.H. Conservation Scholarship. In January, I completed the first year of my MSc in Forestry at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. My background is in biophysics, which stems from my passion for using first principles to explore environmental phenomena. I have been fortunate to have started my research endeavors by first working on the Miramichi river in 2021, and I’ve gladly spent my summers on the Miramichi River helping with various studies since.
Currently, remote sensing technologies are evolving at a brisk pace, yet some commercially available sensors that have shown promise in other applications have yet to be applied to freshwater contexts. For my masters, I will pilot a novel method of fish counting using aerial hyperspectral imaging. These imagers capture hundreds of different colors of light, thereby revealing details in images otherwise undetectable by regular digital cameras and the human eye. The goal of my project is to investigate whether these sensors can accurately identify fish by species in aerial images. This will be completed by simulating a drone flight over different species of fish in the artificial channel at the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Center. A successful proof of concept would ultimately support a method to supplement the invasive procedures of electrofishing and catch-mark-recapture studies conducted to estimate salmon populations today. With the success of this technology in other fields of environmental monitoring, I am optimistic about the potential of hyperspectral imaging to one day deliver population estimates for adult Atlantic salmon at high spatial accuracy at the lowest level of invasiveness.
I would like to thank the Miramichi Salmon Association for allowing my project to take place on their grounds with their infrastructure. I look forward to the potential of investigating the utility of hyperspectral technology on the mighty Miramichi!"
Past Recipients
2023 - Elise Collet (UNB)
2022 - Elise Collet (UNB)
2021 - David Roth (UNB)
2020 - Antoin O'Sullivan (UNB)
2019 - David Roth (UNB)
2018 - Jani Helminen (UNB)
2017 - Jani Helminen (UNB)
2016 - Antoin O'Sullivan (UNB)
2015 - No Applicants
2014 - Emily Corey (UNB)
2013 - Emily Corey (UNB)
2012 - No Applicants
2011 - Nathan Wilbur (UNB)
2010 - Nathan Wilbur (UNB)
2009 - Keelan Jacobs (McGill University)
2008 - Keelan Jacobs (McGill University)
2007 - Tommi Linnansaari (UNB)
2006 - Jaewoo Kim (Concordia University)
2005 - Christopher Blanar (UNB)
2004 - Christopher Blanar (UNB)
2003 - Cindy Breau (UNB)
Funding
One scholarship per year valued at up to $10,000 CAD will be awarded. The funds will be disbursed directly to the student and may be used for the purchase of equipment and materials, for travel expenses during fieldwork, and as a living allowance. The funds may not be used to defer administrative fees or other costs with the university, government, or private collaborators. Multi-year proposals will be considered, however, funding is on an annual basis and the second year’s money would have to be applied for according to the regular funding schedule. The consequences to multi-year research must be identified if only one year of funding is provided.
Scholarship Management Annual Schedule
| December 15 | Deadline for receipt of project proposals |
| January 30 | MSA Committee evaluates and ranks proposals |
| February 15 | MSA Board of Directors approve research proposal to be supported |
| February 20 | Notification of successful applicant |
| February 28 | Notification of unsuccessful applicant(s) |
| April 15 | First payment (50%) provided to graduate student |
| July 15 | Second payment (40%) provided to graduate student |
| January 15 | Final report provided to MSA |
| February 15 | Final payment (10%) provided to graduate student |
Eligibility
The scholarship is for a student conducting graduate level research at a Canadian or American university.
Subject Areas
Areas of research must involve the Atlantic salmon and provide knowledge that will assist the Miramichi Salmon Association in delivering its mission of management actions to optimize the population of juvenile salmon stocks in the Miramichi River. Relevant research topics include, but are not limited to, aspects on carrying capacity of habitat, inter-stage survival rates, constraints on production, effects of competition, predation at various life stages, the consequences of stocking juvenile salmon and ways to improve stocking strategies. The research can extend into the estuary as it relates to the survival of smolts or adults, but is not intended for marine research. The work does not necessarily have to be conducted on the Miramichi, but must be relevant to the Miramichi and the objectives of the MSA and priority will be given to work carried out at the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre.
Collaborations
The Miramichi Salmon Association hopes that some of the research may be conducted in association with the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre at South Esk, New Brunswick. Applicants are also encouraged to seek collaborations with provincial and federal governments, private industry and conservation groups.
Reporting Requirements
A brief interim report describing progress to date is required in July of the funding year, before the second payment is released to the researcher. A final report summarizing research conducted, results and conclusions from the research must be submitted to the Miramichi Salmon Association within the 12-month period of funding. A hold-back of 10% of the scholarship will be provided upon receipt of the final report. A financial report is also required describing how the funds were used in the conduct of the research.
The Miramichi Salmon Association anticipates that much of the research sponsored under this scholarship fund will be published as university theses, refereed journals and in other publications. The MSA requires that its financial support to the research be acknowledged in such publications and that copies of the publications be provided to the MSA office.
How to Apply
Application procedure proposals are to be completed in the format described in Appendix 1 (see below) and submitted to the Miramichi Salmon Association.
Submit your proposal in-person or by mail:
Miramichi Salmon Association
485 Rte 420
South Esk, NB E1V 4L9
Submit your proposal by e-mail:
butch@miramichisalmon.ca
Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated by the Miramichi Salmon Association using the following criteria:
- Research priority: Does the proposal address a research topic consistent with the mission statement of the MSA? Will the applicant use the facilities at the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre (tanks, apartment, artificial stream channel)?
- Research quality: Are the proposed methods adequate to meet the objectives of the project in an efficient and cost-effective manner? Are the planned expenditures reasonable?
- Funding: Are there other funding sources committed to the project?
For More Information
For more information about the Jack T.H. Fenety Research Scholarship or the Miramichi Salmon Association, you can call the South Esk office at (506) 622-4000.