Anticosti Island
The Anticosti Island Atlantic salmon population is genetically distinct from fish returning to the Gaspé Peninsula to the south and the North Shore of the St. Lawrence above.
Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is part of Quebec and has one inhabited community, Port Menier. Larger than Prince Edward Island, the island contain 25 known salmon rivers. Among the most productive are the Jupiter, Aux Saumons, and De la Chaloupe.
COSEWIC estimated that adult returns to the island were approximately 2,400 adults in 2008. But subsequent analysis published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada found evidence that the population was increasing.
Today the centre of Anticosti Island is protected by a 572 square kilometre provincial park, and the Quebec government announced the creation of a marine protected area around the entire coastline in December 2020.
The province of Quebec actively manages and promotes a recreational Atlantic salmon fishery in five Anticosti rivers which would be closed under a Species at Risk Act listing. A 2013 assessment from Fisheries and Oceans Canada found closing the recreational fishery would make no difference to achieving recovery targets.
Quebec has the most progressive and successful management plan for wild Atlantic salmon in North America. The sport of angling is on the rise and salmon populations are healthy. A Species at Risk Act listing for Anticosti Island salmon would not improve the situation.