Streams and rivers are vital components of a watershed, playing an essential role in maintaining the ecological balance. They are essential habitats for many aquatic species, favoring biodiversity and ensuring the health of the ecosystem as a whole.
Water quality is important in watershed communities. Several projects are underway to ensure the protection and restoration of ecosystems that provide good water quality.
For several years, Vision H2O has been working to protect the aquatic ecosystems of its territory. This field work, which includes water quality sampling, enables us to verify the state of health of the streams and rivers that flow into the watershed, as well as the lakes.
Every year, temperature loggers are installed in our waterways to collect data on water temperature. This makes it possible to check the maximum temperatures reached during warmer periods and to record temperature variations up to October.
Electrofishing is used to study fish populations in watercourses. This method is used to identify fish species such as Atlantic salmon, as the presence of this species indicates good habitat.
Our studies have demonstrated the presence of Atlantic salmon in three of the four rivers that we monitor in our watershed: the Aboujagane, Kinnear and Kouchibouguac.
We will be monitoring smelt and alewife runs and spawning sites from April to July in collaboration with the U. of M., DFO and participating groups. In 2023, eDNA water samples indicated the possible presence of these species in watercourses in Cap-Acadie and Strait Shores. eDNA is the DNA naturally left behind by organisms in their living environment, for example, in excrement. Through water samples, it’s possible to detect the presence of the species without having to handle or capture specimens. This technology is reliable, sensitive and safe for the species studied and its habitats. These results add to the smelt egg observations (2021-2022). More data to come in the geospatial database of southeastern NB tidal marshes.
Our team had observed smelt eggs in the Aboujagane, Tedish, Kinnear, Kouchibouguac, Copp Bk, Avard Bk, McMorris Bk and Judson Bk near Shemogue. The survival rate of smelt eggs in the natural environment is approximately 7% (Pouliot and Verreault, 2000). Help keep our streams and waterways clean and healthy to maintain fish populations and habitat quality.
Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) are two species of anadromous fish (Clupeidae) known as "river herring".
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