A fish-stocking project aimed at saving Atlantic salmon is facing an uncertain future after being denied a permit by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

After more than two years of work, Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow (CAST) has been told to halt the release of the 600 adult salmon.

“The project is at risk,” says CAST executive director Andrew Willett. “We need to decide if we're going to continue because we've invested significant time and resources and money in this.”

In a statement to CTV News, DFO noted the lack of independent peer review and input from First Nations as main issues.

CAST says it welcomes more input and the review, but wants to see it happen sooner rather than later.

“We can't have it next September because we want to put fish out next September,” says Miramichi Salmon Association president Mark Hambrook. “It's got to be done in a timely manner so that we know the answer, yes or no. Otherwise, what are we going to do with the fish that we have?”

Roughly 8,000 salmon are currently housed at the Miramichi hatchery. If they can't be released as adults, researchers say they have few options.

In the worst case scenario, the fish would have to be destroyed.

“It's a lost opportunity,” says Hambrook. “So what are we going to do next? We're not going to go away.”

CAST received $4.7 million from the federal and provincial government for parts of the project on top of private donations. A $1 million facility renovation is already underway.

Several University of New Brunswick students are on site daily. Now, the future of their research is also in question.

“All of our students are working on research topics and their job is to write a thesis based on the science that they're doing. There would be a lot of questions and things we'd have to deal with in terms of the students if we're not allowed to go ahead with the experiment,” says UNB professor Allen Curry.

They may be navigating uncertain waters, but the group still has hope for the ambitious program and wants to have a plan in place by the end of the month.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says while the time isn't right for a large-scale release, it does support other aspects of CAST's programs.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Cami Kepke.