It’s been an extremely dry summer so far, causing concern not only for farmers, gardeners and forestry officials, but salmon anglers as well.

John Baird of the Freshwater-Alexander Bays Ecosystem Corporation, formed in the 1990s, told VOCM Open Line with guest host Anthony Germain that water levels are low and this is the worst season they’ve seen for salmon returns in the Gambo, Little Brook and Northwest Brook watersheds.

He says they’ve been keeping records for some time. “You look at years with low rainfall, low water levels, higher water temperatures, and you have years with the low salmon returns” says Baird. “It’s pretty consistent,” says Baird who says they have seen some anomalies in the past, “but usually they go hand-in-hand.”

He says last week they saw a significant mortality on Middle Brook, which he believes were cause by high water temperatures.

“Some anglers mentioned to the man who operates the counting fence that there’s some dead salmon down the river. We went down, and we photographed them, and we counted, along with DFO, well over 30 salmon dead in the river.”