Exploits on the Exploits River

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

 Hi Blog!

On Tuesday, we left the Eastport Peninsula and made our way down and over to Grand Falls-Windsor along the Trans Canada Highway in Central Newfoundland. We are camped in the Sanger Memorial RV Park on the banks of the Exploits River. Originally, this stop was suppose to be a resupply stop before our journey down the Connaigre Peninsula to Harbour Breton. That was before we learned how famous the Exploits River is for Atlantic Salmon. Our campground is only five kilometers from the Salmonid Interpretation Centre, which also has a fish ladder and is the home to a successful project in restoring the Atlantic Salmon runs on the Exploits River.

The cats made sure to wake us up bright and early - Flip for her breakfast and Ruby for her walk. Once everyone had been fed and walked, including us, we decided to walk the 3 miles over to the Interpretation Center. There was a great sign along Scott Road with a leaping salmon. It indicated the Centre was only 2 km away. 

As we made our way to the Centre, we had to cross the river on the Mill Bridge. Built in 1961, the bridge is 250 feet long and was placed over a 100 foot gorge in the river. The framing for the bridge was built next to the gorge and then pushed across the gorge to the other side. Rumor had it that the bridge missed the first time and had to be pulled back up from the canyon. The bridge is a single lane with a wooden deck that is sturdy enough to handle large logging trucks on their way back and forth from the forest to the mill in Grand Falls. 

There are signs warning pedestrians and cars not to stop on the bridge, so we did our best to take photos on the fly. This is the view looking downstream.

Here is the view upstream. The rocky sides of the gorge show how high the water had been during spring runoff.

We noticed several fishermen on a rocky point just below the gorge. The fishermen on the Exploits River have adopted a system of sharing good fishing spots. Everyone gets a turn. You have 10 minutes to try your luck and then move on so the next guy has a turn.

After we crossed the bridge, we saw another sign for the Salmonid Centre. Hey...wait!  It still says it is 2 km away! Someone never bothered to check the distance when they put the signs up at the various intersections. That is so Newfie!

The road to the Centre was lined with wildflowers. We are happy to report that according to the fireweed barometer, we still have several more weeks of summer weather ahead of us.

We crossed a small feeder stream called Stony Creek. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out where they came up with that name.

Here is a look upstream on Stony Creek. By the time we reached this point, it was after 10:00 a.m. and all the fishermen had left the creek. Because of the current heat wave in Newfoundland, the Department of Fisheries has limited fishing hours t. 5.5 hours a day -- from one hour before sunrise (4:30 a.m.) to 10:00 a.m.

The area surrounding the Exploits River is home to American Toads. They like to sun themselves on the roadway. Needless to say, we saw more flat toads than live toads during our walk.  This fellow looks mean enough to scare off any driver that might presume to flatten him.

The Exploits River is the longest and largest river on the island of Newfoundland, and now boasts a healthy wild Atlantic salmon population. Located at the “Grand Falls” is one of the most impressive salmon enhancement projects in North America. Kathy was eager to learn more about the project.

Pictured below is one of the four-foot-high steps in the fish ladder. Between each step is an area the salmon can rest before leaping up to the next section. We watched several salmon make it up one of the steps. To see a salmon leaping, click the link to this video of salmon leaping up the fish ladder. 

Once inside the viewing building, we could watch the salmon swim by. Not sure who was watching who in this photo.

Inside the viewing area were several different fish tanks. Pictured below is a tank containing some small salmon fry. At the beginning of the restoration project, salmon were trapped and the eggs harvested, to be fertilized at the fish hatchery before being released in the river system at strategic spots that would be suitable for the salmon to return and reproduce in future years. Over 1,000,000 fry were released each year.

Once the five fish ladders were complete, the salmon were free to travel back and forth between the ocean and their breeding streams. Exploits River Salmon are routinely tracked to northern Labrador, and between 5% and 10% of the salmon make it as far away as Greenland each year.

 

Ladders have been built in five places along the Exploits River, allowing the salmon to range much further upstream than they have ever migrated in known history:

Before the fish ladders and the hatchery program, the Exploits River saw about 1,200 fish a year. Once the five fish ladders were constructed and the salmon had free range of the entire Exploits River system, the number of fish have increased dramatically. However, the total number of fish still changes based on weather and rainfall. Unlike other salmon, Atlantic Salmon don't die after they spawn. So, if they don't feel like coming home, they can wait a year or two.  They also regularly return to spawn in multiple years.  This chart shown on the center's video illustrates the growth in the salmon population over recent years:

Outside the center is a sculpture that was created using pulp wood pulled from the river. It commemorates the work done by various organizations and volunteers to help clean up the Exploits River.

After watching a film on the construction of the fishway, we hiked over to watch where the fish enter the ladder system. In order to convince the fish to take the ladder, builders had to divert enough water flow to convince the fish this was the right route to get up the falls. So far more than 20,000 fish have made the journey past the fish counting camera.

The falls are an impressive series of hard red rock. Behind the falls is a dam and hydroelectric plant. There are holes in the dam wall that the fish swim right through. They are supposed to swim back through those holes on their way back to the ocean. However, some fish get confused and end up in the diversion to the power plant. There is an escape hatch which lets them out at the top of the falls. The water flow is strong enough to carry them safely downstream.

All those fish make their way through this tiny gap in the rocks. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to fish in this section.

After getting all excited about fishing for Atlantic Salmon, Kathy arranged for a guide to take her out tomorrow morning. Stay tuned and we'll let you know how she made out.