A new survey of P.E.I.'s salmon rivers finds that 11 of the 33 rivers bearing salmon in the 1990s no longer have any of the fish.

'It's almost like a death by a thousand cuts.'— Todd Dupuis, Atlantic Salmon Federation

The previous comprehensive survey of salmon rivers on the Island was done in 2000-02, and it found 33 streams with some salmon in them.

In addition to the 11 rivers where the fish have disappeared, the report from the Atlantic Salmon Federation, released Tuesday, finds populations are alarmingly low in another seven.

"There's a number of issues. It's almost like a death by a thousand cuts," Todd Dupuis, director of regional programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation told CBC News.

The report documenting the decline of salmon was released on the eve of the opening of fishing season. (CBC)

"I mean there are issues with land use, as you know, because we grow so much potatoes. We have issues with chemicals or silt, run-off from farm land which covers up these areas that fish like to lay their eggs in. There's issues with deforestation, there's issues with beavers."

The report makes 21 recommendations on how to reverse the trend and protect what is left, including using barbless hooks for fishing, a catch and release policy, and long-term funding for a hatchery program.

Those recommendations are being forwarded to the federal and provincial governments and the City of Charlottetown. The report concludes that without further action, salmon could entirely disappear from the province in the next few years.

Fishing season opens

The report was released on the eve of the opening of the recreational fishery on Wednesday.

All salmon angling will be catch and release this year, and some rivers are being restricted.

The east branch of the Tryon River is closed to all fishing, and the Dunk River is catch and release only for all species to help stocks recover.

Catch limits for trout are also down, to eight fish from 10.