Striped bass formed an important commercial and aboriginal fishery in the SJR until 1978 when the fishery was closed as a
 result of depleted stock and declined catches. Due to the absence of successful recruitment since 1979, the status of striped
 bass in SJR has been considered extirpated. The reasons for the decline has been attributed to altered flow regime downstream
 of the Mactaquac Dam (MD) due to operations that could have modified the suitability of the spawning grounds that were known to
 have existed in the immediate downstream vicinity of the MD and parallel changes in water quality. Despite the apparent
 disappearance of the SJR striped bass population, the river is frequented by migrant striped bass from other river systems located
 in the Bay of Fundy and the Eastern Atlantic seaboard, and the presence of these fish may allow for recovery of the striped bass in
 the SJR given the alternative future options for MD. To better understand the potential for and the actual efficient means for recovery
 of the striped bass in the SJR the ecology and specific flow requirements must be understood.

 Shortnose sturgeon only exists in the SJR in Canada, and spawning of Atlantic sturgeon in the Bay of Fundy is also believed to only occur
 in the SJR. Based on recent larval collections, the spawning of shortnose sturgeon is known to occur somewhere between the Mactaquac
 Dam and the area known locally as Hartt Island located an approx. 10km downstream from the dam. However, the specific location, or the
 habitat and flow characteristics ensuring successful spawning, are currently unknown.

 For Atlantic sturgeon, spawning is also believed to occur somewhere downstream of the MD, but no information exists where, or when,
 the spawning may take place.

 Survival during the early period of life is strongly linked to flow regime in systems operated for hydropower in other sturgeon species as flow
 regime controls both the quantity of suitable spawning habitat and the success of egg and larval survival. Therefore, mechanisms controlling
 spawning success of the sturgeon species’ in the SJR need to be explicitly known for any potential future scenario for MD to ensure that the
 existence of these species in Canada will not be compromised.

 The project will use acoustic telemetry to track shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon to determine the location of spawning grounds of both species
 and to extend the understanding of seasonal habitats of adults in the SJR.  When the location of spawning grounds has been established,
 telemetry effort will focus on studying the fine-scale, 3D effects of flow and velocity fields on spawning and recruitment success. Output from
 hydrodynamic models developed by other project partners will be combined with field data and re-analysed using River2D to build a model
 of potential spawning habitats as a function of discharge. Future spawning sites for flow regimes predicted for either the dam renewal or removal
 scenarios can then be predicted.


 MAES: Status of fish passage in the hydropower regulated Saint John River: What do we know?

 (Supervising Senior Research Project of Shane Fowler)

 Shane's project will pull together the existing knowledge describing the current fish passage and migration issues in three major hydropower dams
 (Mactaquac, Beechwood, Tobique-Narrows) in the Saint John River based on historical studies carried out by various NGOs, and provincial or
 federal agencies. Project will also thoroughly catalogue and describe the dam structures and any devices designed and installed (or planned) for fish
 passage in the three dams.  He will also analyse patterns in the abundance of selected  migratory fish species pre- and post damming period based on
 historical electrofishing data and fish counts at dam facilities.

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 Biological significance of thermal refugia for juvenile Atlantic salmon
 
(Supervising Ph.D. candidate Emily Corey)