Off-road vehicle enthusiasts that are driving their all-terrain vehicles through rivers and streams are damaging fish habitats and polluting waterways, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Federal fisheries officials are warning riders to stop.
Frédéric Butruille, a DFO spokesman, said people may think it’s fun to splash through the water, but it’s endangering fish.
“The Atlantic salmon or the brook trout are two species of fish that spawn in the fine gravel of the rivers and quite often the ATVs by crossing the river, they crush the nests of the fish and also they release some toxic substances in the rivers,” Butruille said.
With the hot weather this summer, water levels in some areas are lower than usual. Butruille said that makes them even easier to cross in off-road vehicles.
New Brunswick salmon are having a difficult summer. The warm water and lower levels, particularly in the Miramichi River system, has caused hundreds of salmon to die, according to the fisheries department.
The DFO prohibited fishing in the Indiantown Brook, Wilson Brook and Sutherland Pool to protect salmon under stress from the weather.
New surveillance
Daniel Boucher, the president of the New Brunswick All-Terrain Vehicle Federation, said the organization tries to educate members not to drive through waterways.
“It’s an issue that’s unfortunate to have happen,” Boucher said.
“Every time there’s somebody using the watercourse it’s not only the water they are polluting, it’s the fish habitat and so on, and the environment is the responsibility of everyone.”
The federation will launch a trails ambassador program this weekend. 50 people will have vests and logos to identify them as they boost surveillance along trails.
Boucher said their work will focus on education.
The plan follows harsh criticism of some off-road vehicle riders who wrecked public trails used by hikers and cyclists earlier this year.
