Rationale

Scope  Rationale  

The goal of this project is to restore the North Arm River Atlantic salmon stock to historical levels with the purpose of developing a sustainable recreational fishery in the Holyrood area. If this long term goal could be achieved, the Town of Holyrood would benefit significantly.

By far the highest number of visitors to Holyrood are St. John's residents owning summer cottages in the area or those on day trips to take in the scenic attractions and involve themselves in various outdoors activities. Thus the large number of tourists created by the Town's proximity to the greater St. John's area as well as the estimated 1,664 cottages in and around the Holyrood area represents a substantial income potential for local businesses. The Town of Holyrood's five year economic development study indicated that approximately 50% of St. John's residents take fishing trips between the months of May and August. This study also indicated that 33% of all St. John's residents taking in province vacations ranked fishing as being a primary vacation activity. With the St. John's region being the largest tourism market for Holyrood, it would be reasonable to conclude that the presence of a healthy Atlantic salmon stock within the North Arm River would substantially increase visits to the area and thereby introduce new tourist dollars into the local economy.

A second and "higher-end" market that should be considered is the non-resident angler. Either visiting the greater St. John's region on business or pleasure, the avid angler would most certainly want to partake in some quality fishing, if it were available, during his or her visit. In order to accommodate this market, the angler's experience must match his or her's expectation. That is to say that there must be ample fish to catch and the angler must have a clear and definite opportunity to catch one. If these conditions are met, then an angling clientele could be developed that would again fish the river on future visits to the St. John's region.

Another important benefit would be job creation. In addition to the employment created as a direct result of this project, its success would create indirect seasonal employment associated with the tourism industry. If the river is restored and marketed properly, recreational fisherpersons would be attracted to the area and would require the necessary accommodations and services. During peak summer season, tourism-related employment opportunities would be increased and, although seasonal, it would still provide employment for those who would otherwise be unemployed. Although it is difficult to state exactly how many jobs could be created directly and indirectly by this project, one can certainly contemplate that by improving the recreational fishing opportunities within the Town, a number of new employment opportunities could be expected.

Besides the economic benefits, a healthy North Arm salmon stock would provide anglers with increased sport fishing opportunities within the densely populated eastern Avalon region. Most of the salmon rivers which are in close proximity to St. John's are heavily fished and often overcrowded during the angling season. The presence of a healthy run of salmon in the North Arm system may help to reduce fishing pressure by attracting anglers away from these other rivers and its location on the Avalon Peninsula makes it easily accessible from St. John's via a thirty to forty minute drive westward along the T.C.H.

Finally, a salmon restoration project can provide benefits from an educational and conservational stand point, heightening the public's sense of a need for better stewardship of our natural resources. Educating the public on the benefits of conservation measures to preserve our precious, renewable resources will far exceed any benefits reaped by the recreational fishing industry.

Back to Top

Back to Projects