Ensuring salmon protection on the Nipissis River

Atlantic salmon are abundant in the Nipissis River and their migratory lifestyle causes them to move upriver. Fishways are a means to help them bypass obstacles such as waterfalls and the quality of their design is directly related to the success of the annual salmon migration. In order to improve their habitat and counteract losses associated with the proposed expansion of mine tailings in Quebec, we repaired the McDonald Falls fish ladder on the Nipissis River. Developed in consultation with various stakeholders including the Innu Aboriginal community, the 2021 repair will be monitored for 10 years to ensure structural integrity and use by the river’s salmon. The project is important to the Innu community, which has two outfitting operations dedicated to salmon fishing on the Nipissis River and will benefit from the facilitated salmon run.