===FORM START===
0. Intended/preferred project project code, if known? (May be altered by OTNDC)
format: XXXX (3-6 uppercase letters that do not already have a representation in the OTN DB. Will be assigned if left blank)

MAST

1. Title-style description of the project?
format:  < 70 words in 'paper title' form

Margaree Atlantic Salmon Tracking

2. Brief abstract of the project? 
format: < 500 words in 'abstract' form

Atlantic salmon are a prized species, valued for both recreational angling and historic commercial fisheries in the North Atlantic. However, their populations have drastically declined globally over the past several decades, primarily due to poor at-sea survival. Despite widespread declines, populations are not equally affected; in Nova Scotia, the Margaree Watershed is unique as the only salmon population in the province that consistently meets the minimum conservation requirement for returning adults. The reasons for this stability remain unclear. Given that all Nova Scotian salmon populations are believed to share similar marine migratory routes, the Margaree River's freshwater habitat may play a critical role in the population's stability relative to other populations. A significant portion of the Margaree watershed is designated as a sanctuary for Atlantic salmon, where angling is prohibited, allowing salmon to spawn undisturbed. Despite this, the distribution of spawning Atlantic salmon within the Margaree has not been studied, nor has the contribution of the sanctuary to salmon productivity been evaluated. This research aims to address these gaps by investigating the distribution of adult Atlantic salmon in the Margaree watershed. This study will focus on three key phases: holding behavior before spawning, spawning distribution, and kelt departure timing. To accomplish this, 20 adult salmon were fitted with externally attached radio transmitters (Lotek MCFT2) between July and October 2024 to monitor their spatial distribution. An additional 50 radio transmitters are planned to be deployed in 2025. The findings will enhance our understanding of salmon movement during their freshwater migration and inform future conservation strategies to protect critical spawning habitats within the Margaree watershed.

3. Names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID (if available) of researchers involved in the project and their role. 

The accepted Project Roles are defined as:

Principal Investigator: PI or Co-PI. The person(s) responsible for the overall planning, direction and management of the project. Please note: anyone that is identified as a principal investigator holds decision making power over this data, and in certain situations, all PIs will have to be in agreement (for example, when requesting an embargo for data). Once someone has been named a PI, only they can request to change that role.
Technician: Person(s) responsible for preparation, operation and/or maintenance of shipboard, laboratory or deployed scientific instrumentation, but has no invested interest in the data returned by that instrumentation.
Researcher: Person(s) who may use/analyse the data to answer research questions, but is not the project lead. Can be a student if their involvement spans past the completion of an academic degree. 
Student: Person(s) researching as part of a project as part of their work towards an academic degree. 
Collaborator: A provider of input/support to a project without formal involvement in the project.
Please add 'Point of Contact' to the contact(s) who will be responsible for communicating with OTN. 

format: Firstname Lastname, Employer OR Affiliation, Project Role (choose from above list), email.address@url.com, point of contact (if relevant), ORCID

Robert Lennox, Dalhousie University, Principal Investigator, Robert.Lennox@dal.ca 
Josh Roland, Dalhousie University, student, Joshua.Roland@dal.ca

4. Project URL - can be left blank
format: http[s]://yoursite.com 

5. Species being studied?  
format: Common name (scientific name)

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

6. Location of the project? 
format: (city, state/province OR nearby landmark OR lat/long points in decimal degree), one per line

Margaree, Nova Scotia, Canada

7. Start and end dates of the project, if known? 
format: YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD ('ongoing' is an acceptable end date)

2024-05-01 to 2025-04-01

8. Citation to use when referencing this project:
format: Lastname, I., Lastname, I. YYYY. [Title from question 1 or suitable alternative] Will be assigned if left blank.




===FORM END===