Top Conservation Award For Yvon Ct

Presented in conjunction with ASF’s board meeting, Directors from both Canada and the United States were present to honour their colleague’s commitment to conservation of salmon and their habitat.

"Yvon Côté has guided the Fédération québécoise pour le saumon Atlantique (FQSA), ASF's Regional Council in Québec, through challenging times with poise and a level headedness that has brought praise from all sectors of the Atlantic salmon world," said ASF (Canada) Chairman, the Honourable Michael Meighen. "Yvon goes beyond the call of duty to help solve problems in a spirit of respect and cooperation, while trying to include all stakeholders."

In Québec, he led the way for the creation of a federally funded "Salmon Economic Development Program", which provides funds to facilitate development and conservation initiatives in the province’s rivers.

Mr Côté's knowledge of Atlantic salmon issues and biology is uncontested. For more than 20 years, he held various positions within the Québec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. During his tenure, he completed many field research projects and was the chief Atlantic salmon biologist until he retired from the public service in 1996.

He has served as President of the FQSA since 2000. Founded in 1984, FQSA is a non-profit organisation that works to preserve and improve salmon rivers, develop Québec’s salmon sport fishery, and protect the resource and its habitat against threats. FQSA has 35 affiliated river management groups and more than 1,000 members.

The award, first presented in 1975, is named in memory of T.B. ‘Happy’ Fraser of Montréal for the many contributions he made during his lifetime to protect and conserve wild Atlantic salmon. Since then, ASF has honoured more than 40 people, who, like Mr. Côté, have contributed significantly to ensure the future survival of this iconic species.