Similarly, Outer Fundy rivers are, from all indications, in similarly desperate shape. Our indicator site is the Magaguadavic River. Mr. Andrew Goode, of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, has already provided testimony on the results of our research programs there. A key finding is the declining population trend. Wild returns to this river have fallen from about 800 per year in the 1980s, to only 24 in 1999.
Biological extinction is an immediate threat.
We do not know the cause or causes of the Canadian decline. Many of the same factors that have been proposed as problems for Maine salmon have been fingered as possible causes in the Canadian downturn. We are greatly concerned about interactions of our wild fish with escaped farmed salmon. Wild populations are particularly vulnerable to intrusions of these fish because of their depressed state. The fish in the sea cages are not the same as their wild counterparts.