Suspected Atlantic salmon discovered along Petitcodiac River

A man surfing the Petitcodiac River in Monctonlast week wound up catching more than just a wave.

Former riverkeeper Daniel LeBlanc swam ashore on Dec. 25 to find what he believes to be an Atlantic Salmon washed up on the rocks.

LeBlanc says he hassurfed the tidal bore about 60 times this year,but this 20-inch grilse is the first salmon he hascome across.

"It was a surprise, a Christmas Day surprise," he said.

Atlantic salmon is anendangered species in rivers of theinner Bay of Fundy, including the Petitcodiac. While its historic spawning grounds once encompassed more than 40 rivers and streams in New Brunswick and NovaScotia, inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon populations have declined by 90 per cent or more in recent years,putting this fish at risk of extinction, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

"Maybe it had something to do with large rains that would've brought some of them downriver,or maybe the warm weather. Maybe that's what explains that salmon in downtownMoncton," said LeBlanc.

He put the dead fish in his freezer and plans to hand it over to Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials to examine and determine where it came from.

Hundreds of salmon were released into the headwaters of the Petitcodiac this fall in a bidto repopulate the river.

LeBlanc says another surfer also saw a salmon breach on Christmas Day.

"There's a lot of life in the rivercertainly more now than there was before," he said."Others have told me they've felt things nipping at their feet while they're waiting for the surf to come up."

Some fish species that had disappeared from the Petitcodiac River as a result of the causeway have returned since the gates were opened in 2010 as part of restoration efforts.

The causeway, which was built in 1968, linking the City of Moncton and Town of Riverview, hadunforeseen consequences on fish and the ecosystem.

Although ithad a passageway to allow fish upstream for migration, it was inefficient for most species, according to the Fort Folly Habitat Recovery Program website.