Mactaquac Fish Culture Station
Mactaquac and its Facilities
When the Mactaquac Hydroelectric Dam was proposed for the Saint John River in the early 1960's, concern was expressed over its probable effects on the migratory fish resources. As a result of this concern, a fish collection facility was built into the dam, a trucking operation was initiated to distribute fish upriver, and the Mactaquac Fish Culture Station was constructed to compensate for salmon production losses in the flooded area behind the dam.
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Today, the Mactaquac "fish" facilities include the Fish Collection Facility and trucking operation (at the dam), the Accelerated Rearing Facility (beside the dam), and the Main Salmon Hatchery (on this site).
The Main Salmon Hatchery was financed and built by the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission and is operated by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It occupies a 5.3 hectare site, and utilizes as much as 70 million litres of well and river water each day to rear approximately 300,000 one-year-old salmon smolts annually.
Along the tour route you will see the various facilites required to rear these young fish.
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