{"id":507825,"date":"2026-03-01T18:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507825\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T18:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T18:03:09","slug":"salmon-conservationists-oppose-termination-of-south-coast-mou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507825\/","title":{"rendered":"Salmon conservationists oppose termination of south coast MOU"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Opposition continues to mount over the provincial government\u2019s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the south coast National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA).<\/p>\n

The latest opposition comes from the salmon angling community, specifically the Salmon Association of Eastern Newfoundland (SAEN) and local anglers.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment’s decision to withdraw from the MOU is an ill-conceived step backward for conservation, science-based decision making and potentially the long-term economic health of our rural coastal communities,\u201d said SAEN president David Hennessey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe urgency of protecting this region is underscored by the devastating 92 per cent decline in Atlantic salmon returns to the Conne River over the last four decades. Recent-peer-reviewed research identifies a 70 per cent drop in marine survival of salmon in the area, directly linking the decline to regional stressors on the south coast, including open-net pen salmon aquaculture.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Feb. 3, Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Minister Chris Tibbs announced that the province was terminating the MOU regarding the feasibility assessment of the proposed marine conservation area.<\/p>\n

\"AnA shot taken from Pink’s Hill, overlooking Cooper\u2019s Cove in Chaleur Bay on the south coast. (Corey Courtney photo) (Corey Courtney\/Submitted by Gord Follett)<\/p>\n

The minister said he formally notified the signatories to the MOU, including Parks Canada, Miawpukek First Nation, Qalipu First Nation and the Town of Burgeo, of the termination.<\/p>\n

He said the marine conservation area didn’t strike the right balance between protecting the environment and protecting industry, leading the province to pull its support.<\/p>\n

The proposed conservation area by Parks Canada covers roughly 6,500 square kilometres of coastline between La Poile Bay and McCallum, including areas near Burgeo and Ramea. There are several scheduled salmon rivers in and around the area, with Grey and Grandy\u2019s being among the most popular.<\/p>\n

Government\u2019s sudden and surprising move came despite more than two decades of discussion and planning on the project by local towns, tourism and economic groups and leaders. They say it undermines many years of their efforts.<\/p>\n

Besides local anglers, recreational salmon fishing attracts numerous tourists each summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWild Atlantic salmon are part of our cultural DNA,\u201d Hennessy said. “Yet the provincial government is potentially allowing more of their habitat to be compromised for the sake of industrial growth that has already proven harmful to the wild salmon.\u201d<\/p>\n

SAEN is calling on government to reinstate its participation in the MOU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feasibility process was designed specifically to address the concerns of all stakeholders, including the fishing and aquaculture sectors,” the organization said. “Pulling out of the process at this juncture does not solve the challenges facing our oceans; it only ensures that we will lack the resources and the protected habitat necessary to overcome them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA picturesque fjord in Morgan\u2019s Arm, Hare Bay, on the south coast. (Corey Courtney\/Submitted by Gord Follett)<\/p>\n

Salmon Preservation Association for the Waters of Newfoundland (SPAWN) president John McCarthy said his group is hoping to arrange a meeting on the matter with Premier Tony Wakeham in the near future, and will hold off on public comments until then.<\/p>\n

Leslie Hiscock of Burgeo has been fishing nearby Grandy\u2019s River for 46 years, along with Grey River in earlier times, and he is not the least bit pleased with government\u2019s recent decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy main concern is the potential impact on wild salmon stocks and the long-term health of the ecosystem, which are vital to our angling community and local livelihoods,” he said. <\/p>\n

“I believe protecting wild salmon habitat should be the priority, and I worry that expanding or maintaining aquaculture operations in sensitive areas could undermine that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran angler and guide Corey LeRiche of Port aux Basques believes salmon and other fish will lose the bit of protection they would have had with the NMCA. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s been saying for quite some time that open pen aquaculture and seals are having a devastating effect on salmon all along the south and southwest coasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people really have no idea of the damage it\u2019s causing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese fish farms do not have to be next to rivers to cause damage. It just spreads far and wide from the sites.”<\/p>\n

Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-507825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}