GANDER, NL – How the 2018 angling season will look has not yet been determined, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
The department states a decision will be made after it receives advice from its science advisory committee and consults with stakeholders and indigenous groups.
DFO’s regional assessment process for Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic salmon is scheduled for Feb. 27-28. Consultations will follow in March.
“After this process is complete, a decision will be made, and the 2018 management approach will be communicated broadly,” according to a statement from DFO.
The process follows poor salmon counts in 2017, when the province’s highest producing river, the Exploits River (Bishop’s Falls) dropped from 23,459 salmon in 2016 to 15,563 in 2017.
All other counting areas also showed varying degrees of decline.
The declines were so significant, the angling season was switched to catch-and-release angling only on Aug. 6, which remained in place for the rest of the season.
