New Brunswick, federal government plan over $375K on upgrades for Charlo salmon hatchery

In this April 2, 2012 file photo, a 4-year-old Atlantic salmon is held at the National Fish Hatchery in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

A New Brunswick fish hatchery is set to receive $375,117 from the provincial and federal governments for infrastructure upgrades.

The province is spending $166,052 through the Regional Development Corporation’s Community Development Fund while the federal government is spending $209,065 through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, according to a news release from the province.

The Charlo Salmonid Enhancement Centre (CSEC) was established in 1938 to maintain and restore Atlantic salmon and Brook trout populations in northeastern New Brunswick rivers.

These days, the hatchery’s main focus is on Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon populations began to decline in the early 1990s due mostly to unknown changes in the marine environment, according to Parks Canada.

Some populations plummeted close to extinction, and others have dwindled over the course of two decades.

The new funding project for the hatchery includes drilling a new, larger well, acquiring an industrial fish grader, and upgrading and modernizing the water distribution system.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Gilles LePage says this funding project will strengthen the CSEC’s capacity to adapt to climate change.

“To protect our ecosystems, preserve species and strengthen our aquaculture sector, we need to ensure that key facilities like the Charlo Salmonid Enhancement Centre have the infrastructure they need to operate sustainably into the future,” LePage says in the release.

Ken Chartrand, the president of the CSEC board of directors, says the funds are a commitment to protecting the permanence of the hatchery.

“We sincerely acknowledge the federal and provincial governments for their continued support, which has enabled the centre to carry out critical upgrades and ensure this historic hatchery remains sustainable well into the future,” he says.

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