Winter Damage Assessments and Remediation

ISAA spends the first 6 weeks of the season revisiting all the past worksites carrying out winter damage assessments followed by remediation. This is where we look at each structure previously installed, and assess the damage done during the winter months. We take pictures and document the physical state of arc structure. After that we perform maintenance by adding hand rock and other materials to each structure as needed.

Habitat Restoration Project Plans

Each year we carry out a Habitat Restoration Project on a chosen watercourse within Southern Inverness County. We spend 12-13 weeks on these projects because we are installing all new structures. The structures are strategically placed throughout the river based on the design width and physical characteristics. Some of the common structures we install include: digger logs, deflectors, digger logs with deflectors, rock sills, bank stabilization done by hand rocking, armour stone bank stabilization done by machinery, channel blockers, and brush bundles. Our structures work towards restoring the rivers back to a more natural and healthier state. Each structure works differently but achieves similar end results. After installation is complete some of the results we begin to see include; new pooling areas, meandering patterns, spawning habitat for fish, bank stabilization and a decrease in erosion/sedimentation, controlled sediment deposits, narrowed channels and deeper channels, tree cover and protection for fish from predatory bird species, etc. After an installation project is complete, we go back each following year to assess the winter damage and we perform maintenance on each structure. We do this to ensure the structures work properly long-term and continue to restore the watercourse.

Fish Stocking

Each season ISAA volunteers to help the Margaree Fish Hatchery in stocking the rivers and lakes with trout. ISAA releases approximately 30,000 trout in the rivers within Southern Inverness County.  The rivers that are evenly distributed with fish stock include: More Brook, Frasers Brook, Broad Cove River, Glendyre Brook, Shea’s Brook, Little Shea Brook, Captain’s Brook, and the North East Mabou River Tributaries.

Weekly stocking update of Nova Scotia – this is where you can see all the lakes around Nova Scotia that receive fish stocking. It includes the recreational fishing areas by number, the date of stocking, lake name, county, and species released. https://novascotia.ca/fish/sportfishing/hatchery-stocking/stocking-update/

Broodstock Collection

Each year ISAA participates in the Broodstock Collection in Mabou with NS Fisheries & Aquaculture Inland Fisheries. Broodstock collection is when a group of people fish for adult salmon using nets only for the purpose of spawning eggs!The process involves using two nets, one barrier net set on the downstream side and a fine mesh net used to circle the fish in. The nets have a weighted bottom and a floating top which prevents the salmon from escaping. Once the salmon are caught, they are then transferred into a holding tank with oxygen and are then transported to the Margaree Fish Hatchery for spawning. After spawning is complete, the adult salmon are released back to the river they came from! The spawned eggs are cared for at the hatchery where they are raised to the appropriate size for release.  

Monitoring Program

In 2022, the Inverness South Anglers Association (ISAA) had the opportunity to partner with Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA) for year four of the Gulf Priority Rivers Project. This year, each group involved in this project created a monitoring program specific to their watersheds.

ISAA had created a monitoring plan and will be implementing it (in 2023) on the Broad Cove, Mabou Harbour, and Graham River Watershed’s - all located in Southern Inverness County. The monitoring program ISAA created involves four main components: Habitat suitability index assessments, water temperature monitoring, electrofishing, and redd counts. By applying all four components of this monitoring program to the watersheds ISAA restores – it will help ISAA create a baseline of data to build upon each year so progress can be measured.