History

CRI Roots

The CRI has its roots in several initiatives which began at the University of New Brunswick in the 1990s.

The New Brunswick Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (NBCFWRU) was the first formal step. It was created as a collaboration between New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and UNB in 1995.

Its role was to provide the science support for assessment, conservation, and management of fish populations in New Brunswick.

The NBCFWRU successes inspired DNR to develop a research chair in Recreational Fisheries, in collaboration with the Cloverleaf Foundation and Allen Curry was named Professor of Recreational Fisheries Research at UNB in 1997.

In the same year, the Meighen-Molson Foundation and the Atlantic Salmon Federation also collaborated with UNB to develop a Chair in Atlantic Salmon Research that was awarded to Rick Cunjak. Kelly Munkittrick joined UNB in 1999 when the first co-location agreement was developed with Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute and Atlantic Region, initiating the Saint John River Project.

Two Canada Research Chairs (R. Cunjak and K. Munkittrick) were committed to the CRI in 2000, and the Canadian Rivers Institute was formally established in December 2000, with the inclusion of Allen Curry and Deborah MacLatchy (UNB Saint John).