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The Health of Kouchibouguac National Park Rivers and Estuaries

The rivers and estuaries of what is now KNP played a very important role in the Mik'maq culture as well as in the establishment of European settlers. These rivers have provided them with a means of transportation as well as food. Later, when European settlements were well established people began the exploitation of natural resources for agriculture, forestry and fisheries purposes. These harvesting activities had impacts upon the aquatic ecosystems then and still have today.

Forestry

Significant forestry operations began after the great Miramichi Fire of 1825. Soon after the fire the shipbuilders moved to the Kouchibouguac area where the fire had left forests untouched and they started to harvest White pine extensively. Later Eastern hemlock and White birch were harvested in great quantities. After the shipbuilding era came the period of sawmills where several sawmills were built on the Kouchibouguac and Kouchibouguacis Rivers. Each of these sawmills had a dam for the transportation and manipulation of logs. During the 20th century the forestry operations modernized and the use of pesticide became common practice in the 1940's. The introduction of chainsaws in the woods during the 1950's was the beginning of mechanization of forestry operations and had a profound impact on the forest. DDT was used extensively in the forests of NB for the protection against insects infestations such as the Spruce budworm. During the 1970's DDT was replaced by another chemical called Fenitrothion. Forestry operations have been part of our watersheds since the 1800's and are still very present today.

Peat Harvesting

Peat harvesting is an economic activity that began in the 1970's. One of the stricking features of KNP are the bogs. The landscape is covered by ombrotrophic bogs and their exploitation is relatively easy. Several companies have established in the adjacent region of the park. Since several bogs are sitting on the park boundary, the part outside the park is not protected and harvesting of these bogs could have detrimental effects on the watercourse they feed. This actvity has shown an increase since the 1980's.

Fisheries

Fisheries activities started as soon as the settlers came - as a food fishery first, and then evolved into a commercial harvesting of several species such as Eel, Gaspereau, Salmon and Striped Bass. Clam harvesting has alway been part of the local way of life for native and European settlers. These fisheries are still practiced in the park today as traditional activities.

Over the past 30 years, the Atlantic Salmon have undergone a steep decline in the region as well as in other European countries. Where 30 years ago about 1.5 millions small and large wild Atlantic Salmon returned each year to spawn in the rivers of Eastern North America, today fewer than 350,000 do so. While the situation is a crisis, it may not be too late. The Kouchibouguac and Kouchibouguacis Rivers are closed to any harvesting as a conservation measure. Most rivers of the Southern Gulf of St.Lawrence are closed as well. Commercial harvesting of the species has been carried out until the 1980's.

The situation of the Striped Bass is similar to the one of the Salmon; this species has known a sharp decline in its numbers. Data on the population indicate a decline in the numbers of spawners in the entire region since the closing of the fishery in 1996. The population of spawners in the Southern Gulf of St.Lawrence was estimated at 18,500 in 1995 and was approximately 4,000 fish in 2000. The only known spawning area is located in the Miramichi River. The Striped Bass is known to migrate to other rivers such as Kouchibouguac and Richibucto from the Miramichi as young of the year (2.5 cm fish). The spawning area in the Miramichi is located on a stretch on the river not more than of a few kilometers in length. The Repap Pulp Mill is located within that area as well as a new industrial dumpsite for the same company. Futhermore, the Striped Bass spawn at the ``salt wedge`` making it more sensitive to any environmental disturbance due to its limited and very specific spawning habitat. The Kouchibouguac dam may have had an impact on the historical spawning in the Kouchibouguac River. By catch of Striped bass as a non-targeted species is common in Gasperau traps and overharvesting in the past has contributed to its decline.

Clam harvesting in the District 75 (from Pte-sapin to Bouctouche) have shown a general decline between 1986 (138 metric tons) and 1995 (22 metric tons). This decline was evident in 1992 in the park. Data collected that year showed a sharp decline in clam stocks, the principal cause being overharvesting due to a lack of a management system. After several studies, the park ordered a closure of the harvesting from 1997 to 1999, These two years of closure gave time for the resource to recuperate a little bit and the fishery was reopened on a few beds in 2000. This year the data showed that we could reopen the entire park to harvesting, hoping the stocks will not crash again.

Water Quality

Data on water quality collected in the park's rivers show an increase in the water temperature during the summer months. This increase is natural since the water is accumulating heat as the season progresses. The reason for such concern is the fact that salmonids (Salmon and Trout) are really sensitive to temperatures above 24-25 degrees Celsius. This increase in temperature may be caused by several factors, such as reduction of forest cover along the tributaries and creation of ponds and lakes. Sedimentation into the river systems has increased also, due to forestry activities, agriculture, road development and maintenance, and commercial and residential developments. Water quality is also affected by bacterial contamination from municipal waste and non-working private sewage systems, as well as agriculture activities. In 1943, there were fewer than 10 closed areas for shellfish harvesting in New Brunswick. In 2000, there were over 145 closed areas. The St-Louis Bay has been closed several times to clam harvesting due to contamination by fecal coliforms.

Conclusion

Preliminary studies have shown that eel grass beds are in good health and the base of the estaurine food web (phytoplankton and zooplankton) has good biodiversity and is healthy. Eel grass beds are the most important habitat in the estuarine ecosystem since it is used for shelter, food and spawning areas by most of our fish species.

With an increasing population in Kent county and specifically around KNP, these issues will gain in importance with time. The cumulative effects of all these impacts are starting to show in our rivers and estuaries.