Blue Fish News – April 26, 2020

The April 26, 2020 edition of Blue Fish News, brought to you by Blue Fish Canada, includes

• Links to resources that help explain the threat St. Lawrence Muskie are under and why we need to do more before the plight of this iconic apex predator worsens.
• Links to make sure you’re up-to-date on the latest water quality, fish health and fishing news, followed with,
• A curated list of on-line nature/outdoor learning resources guaranteed to inform and inspire everyone in your household.

Muskie Guide Lisa Goodier and Blue Fish Canada President Lawrence Gunther with a 52” Spotted Muskie caught on the St. Lawrence September 2019

Focus on the St. Lawrence Muskie Decline — Blue Fish Radio

St. Lawrence River apex predators – Muskie and Northern Pike – are in decline once again. While species such as Walleye and Smallmouth Bass grow increasingly bigger each year, these two bell-weather apex St. Lawrence species don’t seem to be reproducing, and worse. In the summer of 2019 we joined Clayton New York’s Save the River CEO John Peach and Chair Jeff Garnsey for a day on the River and heard first-hand how Vital St. Lawrence shoreline wetlands have been disappeared or degraded.

We also heard from Dr. John Farrell and PhD candidate Anna Conklyn from the Thousand Islands Biological Station about how Invasive Goby possess a VHF virus lethal to Muskie.

Fishing guide John Anderson conducted his own informal survey of fellow Muskie guides and a review of scientific literature and is Calling out for more St. Lawrence Muskie research

On this new episode of Blue Fish Radio. Anderson also wrote the blog The Death of the St. Lawrence Musky Fishery.

This isn’t the first time Muskie on the St. Lawrence have been struck a significant blow – a 2006 virus outbreak caused the death of hundreds of large breeders. If there was ever a time for anglers and scientists to join forces to save a fish species, it’s now, but some worry that needed resources may be unavailable with Canada and the United States fighting a human pandemic. It’s not unknown for environmental disasters to follow close on the heels of an economic crisis. Let’s make sure this isn’t the case this time.

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Blue Fish Top Links

Fish Health:

IJC’s Great Lakes Advisory Boards Tackle Fish and Water Quality issues — IJC
The Great Lakes continue to face complex challenges that demand comprehensive science and policy solutions. With fresh leadership and new experts, the IJC’s advisory boards continue to work to resolve many challenges facing the lakes, including managing the threat of radionuclide pollution in nuclear facility decommissioning, developing common frameworks for fish consumption advisories, and developing an early warning system for anticipating emerging water quality threats.

Angler Action:

Alaska Group Announces Guidelines for Summer Fishing — Fishing Wire
The Alaska Sport and Personal Use Fishing COVID-19 Response Group today released guidance to promote responsible fishery access for individual anglers and Alaska’s fishing businesses.

Help promote #ResponsibleRecreation to Ensure Safety and Public Access — NPAA
Several outdoor organizations have come together to crowdsource #ResponsibleRecreation as a way to inform the public on the need to act responsibly when recreating outdoors in the era of COVID-19. The goal is to keep the public from breaking social distancing regulations to ensure access to public lands and waters occurs responsibly.

Indigenous Fishers:

IJC Project Creates Fish Consumption Resource for Indigenous Fishers — IJC
Fish are a major resource for residents around the Great Lakes, and many residents consume local fish to add an important source of essential nutrients to their diet. The International Joint Commission is launching an initiative to explore how governments create and issue fish consumption advisories to First Nations, Tribal and Métis communities, who experience higher health impacts due to higher fish consumption rates. The initiative will then be expanded to include all Great Lakes communities.

Industry:

Stay Connected — Northern Tourism Businesses and Communities – Destination Northern Ontario
Join an April 29th 2020 11:00 am EDT webinar to learn more about: connecting with customers now and until the curve flattens; creative ways to engage and stay connected; building community amongst your customers; having difficult conversations with your customers – deposits, cancellation fee, rebooking fees; local community support and engagement; and, industry examples and case studies.

ICAST Goes Virtual in 2020 — ASA
Given the ongoing stay-at-home orders and the desire to keep the health and safety of everyone in our recreational fishing family first in the decision-making process, the American Sportfishing Association board of directors made the decision to cancel ICAST in 2020, and to move the largest sportfishing industry trade show in the world Online and make it virtual.

Bass Pro Shops owner donates a million face masks — Angling International
Bass Pro Shops founder and owner Johnny Morris has donated one million protective face masks to healthcare workers and first responders working on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis across the United States. The nationwide donation comes as supplies for personal protective equipment (PPE) are in short supply and high demand. “We are extremely grateful to our nation’s healthcare workers serving on the frontlines of this unprecedented global crisis,” said Morris…

On-Line Learning Resources for All Ages:

Blue Fish Canada On-Line Educational Resources
Blue Fish Canada offers 11 five-minute Feel the Bite on-the-water sustainability video lessons, 52 two-minute audio Blue Fish Stewardship Tips, and over a dozen printable validated Blue Fish sustainable best practices that cover multiple fish species and fishing scenarios to inform, inspire and entertain outdoor enthusiasts of all ages.

7 Free Outdoor Resources to Teach Your Kids at Home — Watersheds Canada
These seven free nature-focused on-line resource libraries are filled with curriculum-linked lessons, games, crafts, recipes, and more to help with learning and fun in your household.

Carl Safina’s “Beyond Words about wolves and dogs” — Safina Centre
In this video, author, conservationist and angler Carl Safina explains how wolves evolved into dogs, and how one of the world’s toughest mammals became our closest friend.

Try Your Hand at this Ottawa River Watershed Puzzle — Ottawa River keeper
The Ottawa River watershed covers 146,300 square kilometres and is twice the size of New Brunswick. This on-line puzzle features a map of the entire Ottawa River watershed.

Biodiversity Identification Training Resources — St. Lawrence River Institute
This Cornwall Ontario independent research centre has built its reputation on providing in-person and on-line learning videos, crafts, printable resources and other learning materials suitable for all ages.

This could be the longest ocean creature ever recorded — EarthSky
Did you know that 72% of Canada’s territory is covered by three different oceans? We all know Earth’s oceans have yet to be fully explored, so no surprise when researchers discovered a 46-meter siphonophore — a string-like deep-sea huge organism filmed spread out like a spiral UFO hovering and swirling in Australian waters.

Canada C3 Digital Classroom — Students on Ice
A comprehensive K-12 educational resource for youth and families to learn about the people and places that make up Canada’s coastline.

Mental Health:

Isolation means many couples are spending a lot more time together
Psychologists Julie and John Gottman offer advice on dealing with “pressure-cooker” moments.

Donate to Blue Fish Canada
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