The Department of Fisheries and Oceans saw a significant spike in mortality events for Atlantic salmon last year.

Yesterday, DFO released their stock assessment for Atlantic salmon.

The assessment states that the stock has been declining for some time, but this was the third year of historic lows for the species.

Sixty-two per cent of assessed rivers on the island are listed as being in the critical zone for 2025. In southern Labrador all three assessed rivers are in the critical zone, while the one river in northern Labrador is showing positive trends and is in the healthy zone.

Atlantic salmon stock lead Nick Kelly says there were seven die-offs in Newfoundland rivers this year.

To his knowledge, this is the first time DFO has had to deal with so many mortality events. He says they sometimes hear of one-off situations, but those don’t happen every year.

He says water temperatures in the rivers at the time were in the low to high 20s, which is “approaching and possibly exceeding the lethal limits for salmon.”