Meet Réné Aucoin, a member and director of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation Board of Directors. Born and raised in Cheticamp, Cape Breton Island, where he now lives in retirement.

His introduction to fly fishing came at the age of about 14 when he happened upon a group of veteran anglers fly fishing for trout and salmon at the tidal pool on the Cheticamp river. “Their casting with old bamboo rods seemed almost magical.” He was introduced to salmon fishing—and the conservation ethic—a couple of years later by an American tourist angler who spent his summers in the Cheticamp area. “His mantra of catch and release and retiring a fly after it caught a salmon, was quite bewildering to my 16-year-old self who had grown up in a culture of catch everything that the law permitted and sometimes even a bit more.”

Réné is now a certified fly-casting instructor with Fly Fishers International. After university, he founded the Cheticamp River Salmon Association and became a member of the Margaree Salmon Association (MSA), the Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA) and the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF).

“Like many others in early 90s, seeing the increasing plight of our native salmon, my focus shifted towards conservation efforts regarding salmon, working with Parks Canada and later on with both NSSA and ASF. I eventually became president of NSSA and an ASF Board member.

“My conservation efforts, via the Cheticamp River Association, have focused primarily on rivers and streams in the Cheticamp River watershed where, over the years, we jointly managed two counting fences, completed a five-year restoration program on the Lower Cheticamp as well as undertaking many other trout and salmon conservation projects.”

“Becoming a member and director of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation (ASCF) has been a natural progression in my career as a salmon conservationist. The ASCF plays a vital role in the conservation of the Atlantic Salmon throughout its range in Atlantic Canada and Quebec—not only as an important financial partner in our restoration projects, but perhaps more importantly for its role in sponsoring science projects and studies which are key to solving the riddles surrounding the Atlantic Salmon.”

Kastine grew up in Corner Brook, NF, and currently lives there raising her three young children. She teaches yoga classes online with her mother through her yoga studio—but come spring “I focus a lot on fishing-related muscles”. She also manages several websites and is co-host of an upcoming tv/web show called Fish Hunt Feast.
She was introduced to fly fishing by her father when quite young. When I was 10 years old the local conservation group SPAWN came to our classroom and taught about the life cycle of salmon, visiting throughout the year as the salmon matured.” From that moment salmon conservation became a passion. “On seeing a fish I would immediately attempt to determine the sex, and I would look for salmon par anytime I was near a body of water.”
“In 2019 I passed my Fly Fishers International exam and became a certified fly casting instructor. This was a huge milestone for me, as I had been working towards it for two years. I started teaching lessons with my focus being mainly on women and children. The reason for this is because I couldn’t ever find another female angler to go fishing with.
But while Atlantic Salmon stocks are in decline around the globe she still has hope things can recover. “Atlantic Salmon, as we all know, are a very resilient species… Thankfully volunteer groups like the ASCF have stepped up to sponsor local groups in their quest to make sure of the survival of the species. I am proud to be part of this organization and love seeing the proposals coming through from groups and people that have invested their time and energy into saving the Atlantic Salmon.”

James (Jim) Lawley lives in Halifax, NS. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Honours degree in Finance from Dalhousie University. 

Jim is general manager of Scotia Fuels Ltd., co-owner of Camp Bonaventure Ltd. Commercial Sporting Lodge, founder and part owner of Bonaventure Sporting Lodge on the Bonaventure River, part owner of Salmon Lodge on the Grand Cascapedia River, and part owner and director of Hawke River Outfitters on the Hawke River, NL. Jim is a director with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, La Have River Salmon Association, and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

David Peter-Paul is a former chief of the Pabineau First Nation. Situated on the banks of New Brunswick’s Nepisiguit River, the Pabineau First Nation is an active supporter of salmon conservation and has operated a counting facility for several years in partnership with the Nepisiguit Salmon Association.

David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick. He has worked in a variety of capacities for Aboriginals of First Nation communities throughout the Atlantic region, including community development worker, elected councillor and band manager, Post-Secondary Student Counselor/Director of Education (North Shore Micmac District Council), Chief and CFO of the Pabineau First Nation, and has served on a variety of local, provincial, regional, and national boards and committees. Some of the organizations Chief David has worked with include the Assembly of First Nation Chiefs in New Brunswick, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, and the Union of New Brunswick Indians.

LL.B., LL.M., MBA
Marie-Hélène is a finance and legal professional with over 25 years of diverse experience in corporate banking and project finance.

Holder of a Master's degree in law and a Master's degree in business administration, Marie Hélène is currently an Associate Advisor at Desjardins Securities – Groupe Ouellet Bolduc. Previously, she was a business consultant to accounting firms located in the Gaspésie region, in connection with wind projects for community partners, as well as for COVID-19 support programs established by the federal government. From 2015 to 2019, she was also co-owner and president of Imprimerie de la Baie des Chaleurs Inc. Previously, she worked for several years in the corporate banking and financing sector in Montreal (Québec), and practiced banking law with two major national law firms.

From 1995 to June 2021, she was actively involved in several non-profit organizations. She has served on the boards of directors of the Baie des Chaleurs Health Foundation, the Association of Quebec Health Institutions Foundations (AFÉSAQ), as well as the Gaspésie-les-Îles Community Foundation, of which she was president of the Investments Committee (investment portfolio of 16 million).