ZEC Rivière Mitis

This video made for the Z.E.C. de la rivière Mitis presents the strategies developed for the Mitis River to preserve and increase the salmon population in the river. The video presents the capture station at the foot of the second hydroelectric dam, the transport by a tanker truck of the salmon and their release into the river above the first hydroelectric dam. In the final minutes of the video, we are presented with photography of fishermen with their catch and a few excerpts of footage of the fight between a fisherman and a salmon.

The movie is only available in French but does provide English captions and a transcript.

The Z.E.C. de la rivière Mitis is located in the beautiful village of Saint-Angèle-de-Mérici, at the start of the Matapedia Valley. Here is a brief history:

In 1963, the government of Québec nationalized electricity and created Hydro-Québec. The public utility became the owner of the dam Mitis-1 and Mitis-2. From its start the state company fulfilled its mandate of producing electricity all the while managing its environmental impact.

In 1965, the ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche sponsored the installation of a capture station at the bottom of the Mitis II dark and a system to transport the adult salmon above the obstacles.

(subtitles)
Passing through the village of Price.
While following the river by the Rang du Grand Remous.
After travelling a distance of 12 kilometers between Grand-Métis and Ste-Angèle de Mérici.
Beautiful specimens that are the envy of any sport fisherman.
For salmon this is a new beginning.

The salmon are reintroduced into the river about 12 kilometers upstream close to the mouth of the Neigette River. Their spawning territory is thus expanded from 1 kilometer to the more than 70 kilometers offered by the Mitis and the Mistigougèche rivers. At the time of the installation of this system there were only 20 salmon counted in the Mitis River, the salmon stocks having been decimated after decades of log drives and the impact of the dams. With access to new spawning grounds created by the capture system, the salmon population of the Mitis River steadily increased to reach 1,200 salmon by 1992.

In terms of sport fishing, it was only in 1966 that the Mitis River obtained the status as a salmon river. However, salmon fishing only began to be practised regularly in 1977. Over the years the number of fisherman has steadily increased. Local residents began in 1979 to lobby for the management of the Mitis River. It was not until 1993 that the Mitis River became a Z.E.C., entrusted with managing sport fishing on the river. It is a non profit organization managed by a board of seven members, who manage the river to the standards established by the government. Fishing opens on July 1 and ends on September 30. From August 1 fishermen are obliged to release large salmon, those over 63 centimeters. Fishing is open to the 150 members of the ZEC and also to non-members. The river has 35 identified pools.

(subtitles)
All along the length of the river, fisherman are provided with rest areas.

On the Mitis River assuring the next generation is very important

The choice of a fly is very important. Fishermen often change flies several times a day. Sometimes a fisherman manage to catch salmon. Often it is only a small parr that rises to the fly out of curiosity.

When a salmon gets caught, here is the result.

After a fight of 10 minutes.