Question Period Note: European genes found in wild Atlantic salmon on the Atlantic coast of Canada

• The conservation of wild Atlantic salmon populations is a high priority for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
• My Department has an active research program to understand the interactions between farmed and wild fish, including the presence of European genes in salmon.
• We work closely with provincial authorities to ensure aquaculture activities are managed sustainably.
• Research findings will continue to inform the implementation of adaptive management measures.

• On March 19, 2021, the Atlantic Salmon Federation (AFS) expressed concerns in the media about the status of an Atlantic salmon population (Conne River) on the south coast of Newfoundland whose decline they attribute largely to the impact of aquaculture. The AFS has been critical of the lack of DFO action to protect the genetic makeup of wild Atlantic salmon.
• These concerns followed DFO briefings on March 12, 2021 about a recent assessment of Atlantic Salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador which concluded there had been sharp declines in some populations since the 1980s (e.g. Conne River declines from ~10,000 adult fish returning historically to ~125 this past year). DFO stock assessments characterized some Atlantic salmon populations from the south coast of Newfoundland as being near extinction.
• Research into the impacts of farmed salmon interactions with wild salmon has been ongoing for a number of years. This research includes the genetic interactions of farmed salmon escapees. Recent advances in DNA analysis allow for enhanced screening and highly accurate information on the frequency of European genetic contributions.
• Recent work from DFO scientist Dr. Ian Bradbury shows that approximately 19 percent of North American farmed salmon sampled in Atlantic Canada had a portion of their DNA attributable to recent interbreeding with European-origin domestic salmon. Dr. Bradbury presented his findings as part of the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research that took place in mid-February, 2021.
• These results indicate that escaped farmed salmon with European ancestry have hybridized with salmon populations currently of conservation concern including those in the Bay of Fundy and Conne River.
• The issue of the presence of European genes in farmed and wild aquaculture salmon in North America is not new. European genes were previously documented in salmon collected from Inner Bay of Fundy rivers in most years from 1997 to 2012 (reviewed in Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat – Science Advisory Report 2018/041).
• South Coast Newfoundland Atlantic salmon was previously assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and recommended for listing as Threatened.
• The presence of European genes in wild and farmed salmon is unlikely to have occurred naturally. Published research indicates that European salmon were imported into Maine in the 1980s by the industry.

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