New Brunswick's river systems support a famous inland sports fishery.

ew Brunswick has sometimes been referred to as the "river province". Several main river systems dissect the province from north, south, east and west, providing a suitable habitat for the great Atlantic Salmon, especially in the northern half of the province. Brook Trout are also plentiful in the rivers and lakes of this region. In the more populous south, there are several varieties of trout and the Smallmouth Bass, a sport fish which, until the 1960s, was all but ignored.

Sport fishing began to emerge as an important tourist attraction for visitors and provincial residents alike in the mid-nineteenth century. Despite challenges brought on by river dams, pollution and increasing fishing pressure, sport fishing remains a viable activity and industry today.