<
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/photos-with-drones-first-nations-track-down-cold-water-havens-for-salmon-amid-warming/>
"GASPÉSIE, Canada — In Quebec’s Gaspésie region, Indigenous river guardians say
they are in a race against climate change to protect the Atlantic salmon (Salmo
salar).
The Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association (MWIFMA),
serving the Gesgapegiag, Gespeg and Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nations, has
launched a drone-mapping program to locate cool-water refuges in river systems
before they disappear as temperatures rise. Using thermal-infrared cameras, the
team surveys entire river lengths, generating color-coded temperature maps that
reveal cold pockets critical to salmon survival.
Stephen Jerome, an elder of the Mi’kmaq community living in Gesgapegiag, says
he has witnessed firsthand the cumulative toll on salmon populations that have
sustained his people for thousands of years. Overfishing has depleted
once-abundant stocks in the region, while climate change delivers a double
threat: Warming temperatures push Atlantic salmon beyond their ideal thermal
tolerance.
“Recent droughts have left cold, deep refuge pools shrinking or disappearing
entirely,” he says.
Salmon typically prefer temperatures of 12-17° Celsius (53.6-62.6° Fahrenheit)
with heat stress beginning around 20°C (68°F) and lethal exposure at 25-28°C
(77-82°F). According to a study, many Quebec rivers are climbing 0.7-0.9°C
(about 1.3-1.6°F) per decade, and current models estimate river water
temperatures in eastern Canada will climb by 3.2°C (5.8°F) by the end of the
21st century under high greenhouse gas scenarios."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
