Study says aquaculture likely driving wild salmon extinction in Newfoundland

An Atlantic salmon is seen during a Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish health audit near Campbell River, B.C., on October 31, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS /Jonathan Hayward

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -

A new study shows an Atlantic salmon population in southern Newfoundland is disappearing, and it says nearby aquaculture operations are a likely contributor to the decline.

The report published last month in the journal Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture says the Atlantic salmon population in the Conne River declined by 92 per cent between 1986 and 2022.

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Eight federal Fisheries Department researchers co-authored the report, and they say impacts of nearby aquaculture operations are likely the primary contributors to the decline.

Those impacts include escaped farmed salmon breeding with wild salmon, which results in weaker offspring and genetic defects.

The researchers say climate change and predation on salmon by other fish are also at fault, but to a lesser degree.

Jamie Baker, executive director of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association, said in an email that the report is based on old data and contributes "nothing new in terms of actual research."