In this May 25, 2021 issue of the Blue Fish Canada News our focus is on increasing calls to end destructive gillnet fishing on the Fraser River. We include Links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news. The spotlight guest resource offers ten tips for taking kids fishing!

COMING SOON – Lake2Plate is back with a new video featuring produce, beverages, accommodations and an outdoor culinary feast featuring local, freshly harvested fish and forage. Lewis and I start with a visit to Ferme Pleine Lune where I learn about their certified organic vegetables. Then it’s off to the Little Red Wagon Winery to sample grapes on the vine and their wines made with heritage blackberries and grapes. We then check in at Domaine du Lac Bryson where I spend the next 24 hours capturing and harvesting wild walleye, brook trout and lake trout to be featured in our celebratory outdoor feast, all prepared with the assistance of Tristan Hertzog From the Ground Up Culinary. It’s an amazing adventure showcasing some of the best Quebec’s Pontiac region has to offer. Stay tuned for more details about the coming YouTube launch on May 27 at 7p.m. EDST.

This Week’s Feature – Endangered B.C. Steelhead, Chinook and Sturgeon Sacrificed to Gillnet Fisheries

Just over 2,800 pages of government documents secured from Fisheries and Oceans Canada obtained through an access to information request by the B.C. Wildlife Federation revealed that DFO altered language about concerns raised by scientists over whether to list Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead under the federal Species at Risk Act. Such a designation would have given government fishery managers the powers to help mitigate the decline of these iconic wild steelhead species by taking action such as ending certain gillnet fisheries scientists have identified as significant contributors to the populations’ collapse.

Released documents show that a month before the altered report was published in November 2018, the chair of the Canada Science Advisory Secretariat’s steelhead review warned DFO in an email that changes to the advice given by scientists was undermining the scientific credibility of the process. Some in the BC government such as the director of fish and aquatic habitat for the BC Ministry of Forests, also expressed concern to DFO that the altered wording in the report did not reflect the scientific consensus. Members of the BC science team cautioned in another email that, “the report, as published, downplays the threats associated with salmon fisheries bycatch mortality”. Apparently, these opinions were also held among DFO scientists as well. A DFO internal email from one of their own scientists stated, “The ongoing involvement by people who were not part of the process, who have not been involved in the development of the materials or the advice, continues to compromise our ability to meet the deadlines as well as the scientific integrity of the process”.

BC’s own deputy minister of the environment expressed concerns over DFO’s changes to the conclusions in the report to “support status-quo commercial salmon harvesting”. Language in the original report recommended that “the lowest possible allowable harm should be permitted at this time” and that “exploitation be reduced below current levels of exploitation wherever possible”. The report was changed by DFO to read “allowable harm should not be permitted to exceed current levels”. The changes gave the green light for commercial gillnet fisheries that threaten endangered wild steelhead populations passing through the Fraser River and elsewhere to continue.

Many of the issues now laid bare in the retrieved documents were discussed in my October 2019 episode of The Blue Fish Radio Show featuring David Brown. Meeting anglers like David Brown who dedicate huge chunks of their lives to stewarding wild fish resources is always a remarkable learning experience. Dave is a local champion and founder of the BC Public Fishery Alliance. He knows more than most about Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead that run up the Fraser River. Coincidentally, his knowledge and advocacy were recognized in 2017 by DFO awarding Dave the “National Recreational Fisheries Award”. It was the fall of 2019 and I wanted to speak with Dave about his concerns with the joint DFO and BC Steelhead Action Plan that had just been released. Link below to hear my conversation with Dave Brown in the fall of 2019 about his frustration with steps being proposed to mitigate the decline of Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/what-to-do-about-declining-fraser-river-steelhead/

It was a month after I spoke with Dave Brown in the fall of 2019 that DFO decided not to protect Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead under the Species at Risk Act, a decision that went against the recommendation of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. DFO cited that such a listing would result in an estimated $90 million loss in profit for commercial fisheries, Indigenous commercial fisheries and seafood processing over 20 years, plus an additional $16 million in losses for the public fishery.

In November of 2020, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed more than half of the 12 chinook salmon populations in southern B.C. as endangered, threatened or of special concern. I spoke with Greg Taylor from Fish First Consulting just several months before these new listings were announced in a two-part podcast series released in September 2020 on The Blue Fish Radio Show. I wanted to hear Greg’s thoughts about what DFO should be doing to ensure both endangered wild chinook salmon are protected, and what can be done to ensure local public fisheries essential to the social and economic sustainability of many of BC’s southern communities are sustainably managed.

Link to Part one of my September 2020 discussion with Greg Taylor from Fish First Consulting about his concerns over DFO’s insufficient fisheries research, and hesitancy to take the decisions needed to ensure both enough wild salmon reach spawning grounds, and public fisheries target hatchery salmon. https://bluefishradio.com/fraser-river-salmon-stocks-and-greg-taylor-part-i/

Link to part two of The Blue Fish Radio Show featuring Greg Taylor discussing his recommendation to include stakeholders in fishery decision making processes. Greg also offers his opinion of the BC salmon fisheries management strategy that was about to be released: https://bluefishradio.com/fraser-river-fishing-access-and-greg-taylor-part-2/

In an excellent article written by Stephanie Wood for The Narwhal, DFO is reported to have committed to have Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead reconsidered for listing under the Species At Risk Act now that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has reassessed the species as endangered. The article reports that DFO also now plans to continue rolling closures for salmon fisheries this year, and that they are considering additional measures to reduce steelhead bycatch as part of the Salmon Integrated Fisheries Management Plan to be released in July 2021.

I reached out to Dave Brown to get his reaction to the DFO documents secured by the B.C. Wildlife Federation, and what needs to come next. Link below to hear Dave’s thoughts on this May 24, 2021 episode of The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://www.spreaker.com/user/5725616/e335-gillnet-fisheries-threaten-endanger

Blue Fish Radio has been tracking and reporting on impacts of commercial fisheries on the sustainability of wild fish stocks since we first began podcasting in 2012. More recently, Blue Fish Radio has explored impacts of gillnets on juvenile sturgeon on the Fraser River with Kevin Estrada, Kevin established the Fraser River juvenile sturgeon tagging and tracking program and started a petition to end gillnetting on the river that had over 80,000 signatories. Link to hear Kevin speak about his concerns over gillnet impacts on juvenile sturgeon on this March 2021 episode of The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/fraser-river-sturgeon-champion-kevin-estrada/

I learned about new selective sustainable salmon harvesting innovations designed to eliminate the impact of gillnet fisheries in the Fraser on wild chinook with scientists like Peter Krahn. Peter has reimagined indigenous ancient weir fishing systems using a non-intrusive mobile fish trapping system that supports data collection and selective harvesting. Link to hear my April 2021 discussion with Peter on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/selective-pacific-salmon-harvesting-and-tagging-innovations/

Once again, we are hearing from BC angler advocates like the Public Fishery Alliance. They are calling for the end of gillnet fishing on the Fraser to protect the handful of remaining wild Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead. But more than that, advocates are asking for open and transparent negotiations over how important decisions are taken about regional fisheries. Over in Port Alberni Bob Cole and others established just such a round table involving FN communities, commercial and public fisheries, conservationists, scientists, and all levels of government. While decision making authority continues to rest with DFO, the stakeholders at the table use their access to the same information DFO uses to develop a consensus position that DFO then implements. Link to hear my July 2020 conversation about how the round table works with Bob Cole on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/port-alberni-round-table-ensures-salmon-stocks-and-equitable-access/

People are growing increasingly frustrated about why science-based precautionary recommendations to end unsustainable fishing practices are not being followed. Issues such as the use of destructive technologies like gillnets by people who otherwise have legitimate and legal rights to fish. Anglers and others are asking when do science-based precautionary measures inform how these rights are applied, and what will it take to ensure politicians act on such recommendations? Why does the protection of endangered wild species of fish come second to our choice in the tools we use to exercise our rights to fish? Anglers understand that just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

Anglers understand that with more proficient tools comes the responsibility to no and manage when enough is enough. It’s not easy, since we are all hard-wired to do our best to provide for our families and communities. It doesn’t come naturally to exercise such judgment since it’s only relatively recently that we created the highly efficient tools in support of our innate drive to harvest. Tools that now give us the power to inflict significant and widespread harm to nature if not applied responsibly. Technologies that led to population collapses or species elimination such as passenger pigeons, whales, buffalos, beavers, and more recently cod and now sharks.

Just as our values shape our decisions, evidence and science must also now inform how we apply these values. Otherwise, what use to be a “lucky day”, becomes every day, and then eventually, nothing. Its why scientific data has become crucial to informing decisions about harvesting, and why all stakeholders now want a seat at the decision-making table.

You can access all 2,800 pages of the documents obtained by the B.C. Wildlife Federation through access to information legislation at these links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Science proves that releasing big fish dramatically improves a fishery / Outdoor Canada
Gord Pyzer shares new scientific research about the stunning effect of selective harvest on fish populations, and the outsized importance of big fish. The study shows how keeping the big ones devastates a fishery, and does it even faster than scientists suspected. But the opposite strategy—keeping only little guys and releasing the lunkers—creates true trophy waters.

Fisheries scientist calling on high-tech anglers to reel it in / CBC News
Some sport fishermen with deep pockets are using drones to drop baited lines, electric lures that flash lights or emit scent, and fish finders so advanced that they create 3D images of the prey, turning angling into a kind of video game. That might be making fishing fun for some, but it’s far less sporting for the fish, according to Steven Cooke, who’s calling for the technology to be reeled in.

Johnston Brothers Victorious At Sturgeon Bay / SBOBT
Bassmaster Elite Series pros Chris and Cory Johnston took home the Sturgeon Bay Open title over the weekend in impressive fashion. This makes the third time that the dynamic brotherly duo have taken home the hardware and check to go with it. With a weight of 53-4 the Canadian team topped an impressive field by nearly a 3 pound margin in what they describe as their favorite event to fish. There is no rest for the weary as both brothers headed South to Lake Guntersville for the Elite Series event.

U.S. Conservation Group Calls for 10-Year Harvest Ban on Atlantic Coast Stripers / Fishing Wire
Striped bass, also known as rockfish, are arguably the most economically important finfish on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. Unfortunately, striper numbers have plummeted on the Atlantic Coast, and Stripers Forever says a decade-long moratorium on harvest may be the only sure cure.

Planning some B.C. wilderness fishing? Don’t catch a log truck / Salmon Arm Observer
Remote recreation areas bracing for heavy pandemic pressure. The B.C.’s resource road districts are only receiving about one quarter of the money they request for maintenance of washouts, rockslides and bridge damage for the 58,000 km of forest service roads.

CSF Sees Hope in “30 x 30” Conservation Program / Fishing Wire
While this first set of recommendations is largely consistent with many of the priorities identified by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and other members of the sportsmen’s community, many questions remain regarding what efforts are going to count toward the 30% objective. Throughout the report, the Biden Administration repeatedly references the role of the hunting and angling community in the U.S.  history of conservation successes. Further, it specifically calls on stakeholder engagement, including engagement from the hunting and fishing community, regarding science-based practices and programs that maintain and enhance outdoor recreational access for all Americans .

New 30 by 30 Report Shows Growth in Recreational Fishing’s Influence / Fishing Wire
The ASA’s Mike Leonard says the 30 x 30 conservation plan could be a good thing, so long as the proposed inclusion of angling and other recreation interests are kept at the fore.

Fish:

Atlantic Canada seafood magnate urges pause on aquaculture expansion / ASF
John Risley, co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods, says open net-pen farms are fundamentally unsustainable and expansion plans should be shelved until industry can address fundamental problems like sea lice, escapes, and the scouring of global oceans for forage fish to feed caged salmon.

Community Steps Up to Continue Yukon River Salmon Research / NOAA
Fewer Chinook are returning to the Yukon River each year, and those that do are smaller and younger than they have been in the past.  The need to understand what is behind the dwindling returns led to a special partnership between NOAA Fisheries, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and local fishermen from the villages of Emmonak and Alakanuk.

Miramichi smallmouth eradication plan given go-ahead by N.B. / ASF
The provincial government has released the proposal to eradicate invasive smallmouth bass from the Miramichi watershed from further environmental assessment, a regulatory milestone as DFO works to conclude their review.

Hitchhiking with Bloodworms / Hakai Magazine
Invasive species are sneaking around the world, nestled in the seaweed used to ship bait worms. An easy solution exists, but the industry is resisting change.

The four fish I would still eat – even after watching Seaspiracy / The Guardian
Paul Greenberg, bestselling author of FOUR FISH, explains which four sea creatures he would still eat following his viewing of the documentary “Seaspiracy.”

Thousands of salmon fry released in B.C. river to restore populations devastated by Big Bar landslide / CBC News
The effort is part of an ongoing release of 101,000 chinook salmon fry that DFO says will avoid the early life stage mortality in the first year of a salmon’s life.

Hatchery conditions linked to lower steelhead trout survival / WSU Insider
Alterations in the epigenetic programming of hatchery-raised steelhead trout could account for their reduced fertility, abnormal health and lower survival rates compared to wild fish, says a new WSU study.

Blue herons identified as a top juvenile salmon predator / Marine Mammal Research Unit
It is more than just seals that are preying on the bounty of juvenile salmon exiting river mouths each spring. Up to 50 per cent of juvenile salmon deaths occur when the young fish pass through a gauntlet of predators and damaged habitats on their way to the ocean. Exactly how all of these fish die has been a cause for concern, but now a UBC study has identified a bird species that may be scooping up oversized portions of B.C. juveniles: Pacific great blue herons.

Higher Counts of Returning Atlantic Salmon Stir Hope / ASF
There appears to be an upward trend in returning numbers of Atlantic salmon, and spawning success. According to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a recent population report showed returns of adult salmon from the ocean were up around 70 per cent in Labrador last year, 27 per cent in Quebec and 20 per cent in Maine.

New research shows fish farm disease agents impact wild salmon / Watershed Watch Salmon Society
New research by Dr. Emiliano Di Cicco links pathogens infesting factory fish farms with PRV disease found in B.C. wild salmon.

Sharks navigate using Earth’s magnetic field / EarthSky
Sea turtles, lobsters and some birds rely on Earth’s magnetic field to navigate to the beach of their birth or their winter getaway. This month, researchers reported the first evidence that sharks also have a magnetic sense, making it possible for them to map their surroundings and to maintain their heading while navigating long distances.

New clues to ancient life from billion-year-old lake fossils / EarthSky
Scientists have reported on the discovery of new microfossils in ancient Scottish lake sediments that could help fill in the gap between the earliest single-celled life and multicellular life. These scientists say their find could be the oldest example of complex multicellular life in the evolutionary lineage leading to animals. They say the fossils are also significant because they come – not from ocean sediments – but from sediments of an ancient freshwater lake.

Can fisheries benefit from biodiversity and conserve it too? / Simon Fraser University
New study reveals the trade-offs of fish biodiversity–its costs and benefits to mixed-stock fisheries–and points to a potential way to harness the benefits while avoiding costs to fishery performance.

Water:

Fish-friendly gold mines produce “salmon gold” / Hakai Magazine
With supporters like Apple and Tiffany, a new conservation financing effort has companies paying to help fund restoration of salmon habitat, one stream at a time.

A giant invisible problem for Fraser salmon and how to fix it / Chilliwack Progress
Most of the dikes, floodgates, and pumps protecting B.C.’s communities are aging, and many are too small to block the larger floods and higher tides caused by climate change. Major upgrades are needed. If we ensure these upgrades consider wild salmon, we can both protect our communities from flooding and welcome wild salmon back to their former habitats.

Dump of Salmon Farm Pesticide on BC Coast is Opposed by Tour Operators / ASF
In Clayquot Sound an effort to renew a license to dump byproduct from sea lice treatment is meeting strong resistance.

The Big Melt  / The Tyee
Using space-borne optical imagery, a four-fold increase in the rate of glacial melt in the last decade highlights a massive loss of glacial mass across much of Western North America. Yearly, the ice lost is more than all the water we use in Canada.

Free Shoreline Wilding Resources from Watersheds Canada
Watersheds Canada has a number of free resources specific to creating sustainable and water-friendly shorelines and fish habitat. Visit their website to access the Shoreline Habitat Creation Manual, Native Plant Care Guide, Wildflower Garden Guide, and Lake Links Planning Committee’s Lake Protection Workbook. Hard copies can be ordered and paid for by emailing seidel@watersheds.ca.

Indigenous:

Potlotek First Nation seeks injunction against DFO over self-regulated fishery / CBC News
Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton is seeking a court injunction to prevent the DFO from interfering with its moderate livelihood fishery. A number of First Nations communities in the province, including Potlotek, launched their own self-regulated lobster fisheries last year to mark the 21st anniversary of the historic Supreme Court of Canada decision that affirmed Mi’kmaw rights to fish for a moderate livelihood. In March, federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said Ottawa will not licence any treaty-based fishery in Atlantic Canada unless it operates within the commercial season.

Indigenous protected and conserved areas and guardians are truly essential services / Georgia Straight
“Protecting our homelands is essential for the survival of everyone, not just Indigenous peoples. But this does not have to come at the expense of jobs, or a healthy economy.”

A Whale of a Controversy / Sierra Club
In exchange for ceding thousands of acres of land to the US government in 1855, the Makah secured the right to continue hunting whales under the Treaty of Neah Bay located on the Olympic Peninsula. Though the tribe voluntarily stopped hunting in the 1920s, when the gray whale population dwindled dangerously due to overzealous commercial whaling, they’ve since rebounded to a healthy population, numbering around 26,000 today. The Makah has since received an exemption to the federal ban on whaling from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Opposition to the Makah’s whaling resumption comes from groups like Sea Shepherd and the Animal Welfare Institute that view whaling as inhumane and dangerous to the health of a fragile population.

Inside the hidden fight over Indigenous fishing for baby eels in Nova Scotia / CBC News
DFO had been closely monitoring, and in some cases prosecuting, the unauthorized sale of baby eels harvested by Mi’kmaq under Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) eel licences since 2017. The appearance of more than 110 Indigenous fishermen at the beginning of April 2020, up from 21 across the region in 2019, quickly forced a shutdown of the little known but lucrative fishery throughout the Maritimes.

Who is an expert in Indigenous history up for debate in Nipissing hunting and fishing trial / CBC News
A trial that could have far reaching implications for Indigenous people across Canada has resumed in North Bay this week. There are 54 people on trial in a virtual courtroom based in North Bay, charged with violating Ontario’s hunting and fishing laws, as well as the commercial fishing laws of Nipissing First Nation.

DFO told BC salmon farmers, but not First Nations, about mouth rot disease / The Narwhal
Documents released under access to information legislation show federal scientists raised the alarm about a bacteria that causes potentially deadly lesions in Atlantic salmon, saying migrating Fraser River salmon were at risk. “It’s like this perfect storm of pathogens emanating from these farms and impacting BC’s wild salmon.” says Watershed Watch’s Stan Proboszcz.

Industry:

Johnny Morris Tribute to Leigh Perkins, Orvis Founder / Fishing Wire
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Leigh Perkins was a friend to anglers everywhere, he was one of our heroes,” says Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops. I thought the world of him for many reasons, but I especially admired his unwavering commitment to customers and conservation…

New B.A.S.S. Program Inspires And Educates Families On Outdoor Exploration / Bassmaster
The Go Out{side} program encourages a new audience of burgeoning outdoor enthusiasts who can turn to the authorities at B.A.S.S. for guidance on a variety of outdoor topics, including fishing, camping, hiking, cooking, travel, gear and conservation.

Boating:

Boat Shipments Up 23 Percent Over February, 2020 / Fishing Wire
NMMA’s Monthly Shipment Report for the U.S. has been updated with February 2021 data, which shows wholesale shipments of new powerboats up 23% compared to the 2020 average, and up 9% compared to the 2019 average.

Stopping the spread of invasive species by regulating the movement of boats / FOCA
FOCA has written the MNRF to request the movement of boats between waterways be regulated. It’s suggesting that the MNRF accomplish this as part of proposed amendments to Ontario’s Invasive Species Act.

Special Feature – Tips for Taking Your Kids Fishing / Blue Fish Canada and the Iowa DNR

1. Keep it simple with easy-to-use tackle. Just a nightcrawler and bobber is all you need to start. Think small, too – the fish you will likely encounter have mouths about the size of the tip of your finger, so use small hooks, small baits, a quarter-sized bobber and 2- to 4-pound test fishing line.
2. Find jobs for each child. Let them feel like they are an important part of the trip and help keep them focused by giving them each a job, like carrying bait or measuring any fish you catch.
3. Go early in the day when kids are most attentive. A fishing trip during a skipped naptime or the hottest part of the day is a recipe for disaster. Aim for a morning trip so kids are more focused and when temperatures are cooler — plus, fish tend to bite better in the early morning.
4. Give your kids your full attention. Try to make this “their” trip – show them the basics and let them know you’re proud of how they’re doing. And, especially for small children, keep a constant eye, as it’s easy for a little one to fall in quickly; life jackets are always a good idea for shore fishing.
5. Keep it short and have a Plan B. Start with just an hour or two and leave when they start to get fidgety – make sure they remember the positive, fun parts of the trip. Look for a pond where there’s nearby distractions like playground equipment. If the fishing is slow, there’s plenty of other things to do outdoors.
6. Bring a camera to record memories! Even if they don’t get a fish that day, make sure to get shots of them casting and enjoying the special time spent with you. If they reel in their first fish ever, be sure to take a photo.
7. Bring snacks and drinks. Nothing can turn a frown upside down quicker than a yummy nutritious snack. Bring plenty of water so no one goes thirsty. Minimise sugar intake so kids don’t lose focus due to a sugar high.
8. Play Safe and prepare accordingly. Sun block, insect repellent, a small emergency kit with bandaids, properly fitting PFDs for everyone and sun hats will keep everyone safe and happy.
9. Teach them about stewardship. Fish are fun but they are animals too. Teach kids to handle fish respectfully. Use barbless and / or circle hooks as much as possible. Use lead alternatives like tin for weights. Pack it in, pack it out, leave things better than you found them.
10. For more species-specific sustainable fishing tips, visit the Blue Fish Canada Resource page and our extensive collection of top-ten downloadable quick tip guides. https://bluefishcanada.ca/resources/blue-fish-sustainable-fishing-tips/

About us:

Subscribe to receive the Blue Fish Canada news in your inbox.
Read back issues of the Blue Fish Canada News
Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast.
Email us your news or podcast story ideas.
Donate to Blue Fish Canada, a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity.

In this April 12, 2021 issue of the Blue Fish Canada News, we begin with a focus on Lake of the Woods, the unofficial 6th Great Lake. As always, we include a specially curated list of summaries and Links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news. We are also giving readers advanced access to a special Blue Fish Radio episode featuring Alexandra Morton discussing her new book “Not On My Watch”.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – Join Blue Fish Canada on April 15 at 7:00 p.m. est for the premier web streaming of the Canadian documentary What Lies Below. Follow Lawrence Gunther and his guide dog as they reveal ten stories impacting water, fish, and diverse Canadians who live by and from the water. Discover what is truly taking place out-of-sight beneath the surface of Canada’s many rivers, lakes and oceans.”

Link here to watch the trailer https://youtu.be/NHQbuECriog and
Link here to set a reminder for April 15, 7: p.m. EDST.

This Week’s Feature: Lake of the Woods – the Unofficial 6th Great Lake

Many consider Lake of the Woods to be the hidden jewel of western Ontario. With it’s 4,349 sq. km. of surface area measuring 94 km by 109 km, and reaching depths of 64 meters, some even consider it to be a Great Lake given that it’s the 6th largest lake located either fully or partially within the United States.

The lake’s primary inputs include the Rainy River, Shoal Lake, and Kakagi Lake. According to the Rainy-Lake of the Woods: Tour of the Basin Map Journal, the lake’s watershed encompasses 69,750 sq. km. of mostly water-covered ten distinct basins. These watersheds begin with the lake’s headwaters near Lake Superior and stretch all the way north to the lake’s outlet at Kenora Ontario, where it drains into the Winnipeg River and ultimately into Lake Winnipeg itself.

It’s 14,522 islands are situated mainly in the lake’s shallower southern end. At the northern Canadian shield tip of the lake are the lake’s deeper colder bays. This dual personality makes Lake of the Woods a truly bountiful and diverse lake with fish species that include walleye, northern pike, perch, sauger, crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass, lake trout, lake sturgeon, whitefish, suckers, and it’s famed prized muskellunge.

Numerous watersheds and lakes straddle the Canada / U.S. border. However, binational status can introduce significant issues for assigning responsibility to resolve issues. In the case of Lake of the Woods, this includes addressing the lake’s excessive algae blooms. Sorting out jurisdictional issues is where the century-old International Joint Commission (IJC) comes into play.

The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, in partnership with the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association, are two of the primary drivers behind the push to put the issues impacting Lake of the Woods on the agenda of the IJC and numerous government departments. Environment and Climate Change Canada has now released ecosystem objectives for reducing phosphorus. What is still to be determined is how these objectives will be met on Canada’s side of the border – Minnesota is already moving ahead with their reduction strategies.

According to Todd Sellers, Executive Director of Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, it’s taken 15 years of hard work at the grass-roots level to get governments to take the lake’s algae situation seriously. While it’s still too soon to claim success, it doesn’t mean little has been accomplished. Link below to hear Todd Sellers discuss the multi-layered personality of Lake of the Woods, its water quality and fish health challenges, and the machinery of numerous governments now activated to address the lake’s issues on The Blue Fish Radio Show:
https://bluefishradio.com/todd-sellers-on-lake-of-the-woods-algae-and-fish-sustainability/

Interested in knowing more or getting involved in Lake of the Woods issues? Take part in two up-coming April 14 online webinars. Or, submit your comments on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s targets for reducing harmful algae by April 30. To register for the April 14 Lake of the Woods workshops with special guest Environment and Climate Change Canada, visit: www.LOWWSF.com

To learn more about what ECCC is doing and to submit your concerns and recommendations about the lake’s water quality and fish health before the April 30 deadline visit: www.placespeak.com/lakeofthewoods

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Musky Odyssey April 17-18 — See detailed schedule here
If you love Muskie fishing in Canada, you won’t want to miss this blockbuster virtual event. April 17 – 18 Muskie Canada Inc. will showcase the best of Canadian Muskie waters and how the organization is working hard to help these great fisheries. Muskie destinations will be featured such as: Sunset Country and Lake of the Woods; Georgian Bay, Lake Nipissing and the French River; the Kawarthas Lakes; Lake St. Clair; the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers; even the newest Big Muskie waters of New Brunswick.

Podcast – Selective Pacific Salmon Harvesting and Tagging Innovations / Blue Fish Radio
Peter Krahn is a professional chemical/environmental engineer with 38 years experience specializing in forensic criminal environmental investigations. Now retired, Peter is developing a selective fishing technology for sustainably harvesting salmon to replace destructive gill nets. It supports scientific data collection, and supports selective harvesting, the removal of invasive fish species, and the release of wild fish. Listen to Peter Krahn and Dave Brown from the Public Fishery Alliance on The Blue Fish Radio Show.

AHEIA’s Alberta Fishing Education Program is currently FREE! / Alberta Conservation Association
Looking to become an angler in Alberta? This course offers a comprehensive fishing education experience, all from the comfort of your home! Learn all about fish identification, fishing equipment and techniques, preparing and cooking your catch, and much more!

Recreational anglers required to immediately record catch / Powell River Peak
Recreational fishing licences for tidal waters in the Pacific region went on sale April 1. Under regulations in the tidal waters sport fishing licence, recreational anglers are required by law to immediately and permanently record their catch on their licence or an FOC-kept catch database for all retained chinook and halibut caught in any management area, and lingcod caught in specific areas. They can now do this digitally under FOC’s national recreational licencing system (NRLS).

Ohio Lake Erie Perch Limit to Drop to 10 / Fishing Wire
A declining population of Lake Erie yellow perch in the central basin has prompted a reduction in the daily limit to 10 from Huron to Fairport Harbor beginning May 1, 2021.

‘Forever chemicals’ in Lake Superior smelt results in new advisory on consumption / TBNewsWatch.com
THUNDER BAY — The discovery of harmful chemicals in Lake Superior smelt has resulted in a new consumption advisory from two U.S. states. Minnesota and Wisconsin are both telling people to eat no more than one meal of smelt per month. Ontario’s recommended limit for the northwestern part of Lake Superior ranges from four to 16.

Grass Carp: Interesting and Unusual Gamefish / Fishing Wire
Any grass carp caught in Florida must be released immediately – but they’re interesting and unusual gamefish for catch and release.

Fish:

St. Lawrence muskie population threatened by invasive gobies / Ottawa Citizen
“This is like having the New York Yankees disappear from baseball. This is the greatest fish franchise in history. Those are the biggest, baddest muskies on the planet” says Ottawa River muskie guide John Anderson

Friends of the Thousand Islands Biological Station / Save the River
Save The River Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper is pleased to announce the launch of ESF’s Friends of the Thousand Islands Biological Station’s webpage. Save The River and Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS) have been working together for many years on environmental issues affecting the Upper St. Lawrence River, including sponsoring the Dan Tack Muskie Catch and Release Tournament. Hundreds of legal sized muskie have been returned to the River after being weighed and measured by area fishermen and guides, contributing to TIBS’s knowledge of this apex predator.

Canada declares fish fraud crackdown but leaves out restaurants / The Guardian
New study released after Guardian Seascape investigation shows drop in seafood mislabelling, but campaigners argue it uses less strict methodology. In its latest report, released on 24 March, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said only 8% of the seafood it had sampled in the past two years was mislabelled, after new investments in food fraud reduction.

Atlantic cod rebuilding plan undermines scientific evidence and Indigenous Knowledge / The Narwhal
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s roadmap to save critically depleted Atlantic Cod fails to address overfishing and climate change, while blaming ‘natural causes’ for population decline.

Fisheries Biology: The Life of a Lake / Fishing Wire
Categorizing lake types involves understanding the life stages individual lakes pass through. Understanding these phases is crucial to determining a lake’s productivity and fish sustainability.

Fish farms and conservationists tussle over transfers in court / National Observer
An environmental coalition is in court to prevent salmon farm companies from securing a ruling to allow the transfer of 1.2 million fish to sites in the Discovery Islands this summer, despite a federal ban on restocking the farms.

Podcast – DFO Scientist Speaks out on Aquaculture / Mi’kmaq Matters: Episode 174
Federal stock assessment biologist Nick Kelly, based at DFO’s Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre in St. John’s, joins the Mi’kmaq Matters podcast and tells host Glenn Wheeler it’s naïve to ignore the role of aquaculture in South Coast Atlantic salmon declines and that stocking more fish in affected rivers is not the solution.

Decades of cuts to salmon monitoring leave BC scientists uncertain of fish populations / The Narwhal
Only 215 of 2,500 salmon spawning streams (less than 10 per cent) on B.C.’s central and north coast are being monitored by creekwalkers, the people who count salmon one by one. Critics say this leaves a critical gap in knowledge that could further imperil the species.

“Quite the catch”: Removing invasive bass requires delicate balance / Canadian Geographic
Rotenone was applied in Nova Scotia’s Piper Lake, part of the St. Mary’s watershed, to remove invasive smallmouth bass. Illegally introduced, the bass jeopardized a major salmon restoration program for the watershed.

Salmon Eggs Hatching – Live on YouTube / ASF
A YouTube livestream of Atlantic salmon eggs being hatched as part of a New Brunswick Fish Friends program. Check back from time to time to follow developments.

5 ways fish are like you and me / EarthSky
Fish seem unlike us. They don’t speak aloud or have facial expressions. We and fish don’t even breathe the same air. But scientists who’ve studied fish – including their neurobiology, social lives, and mental faculties – say they’ve found time and time again that fish are more complex than we’ve realized. In fact, fish may have more in common with humans than we might like to admit. Here are 5 examples.

DFO under scrutiny for aquaculture impacts on wild salmon / ASF
NTV focused attention on how DFO has failed to research fully the impacts of open net-pen salmon on wild Atlantic salmon runs. This is as Conne River runs are at historic lows.

Water:

Teck Fined $60 million for Contaminating BC Rivers / CBC News
Canadian mining company Teck Coal has been assessed $60 million in fines for contaminating waterways in southern British Columbia, the largest penalty ever assessed under the Fisheries Act.

Washington legislators call on B.C.’s Premier to better regulate mines threatening international rivers / Financial Post
The letter points out that there are at least a dozen operating mines or mining exploration projects in the headwaters of rivers that flow from B.C. into Washington state.

Indigenous:

B.C. First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada protect crab for Indigenous food, social and ceremonial purposes / The Narwhal
In a landmark decision, an agreement has been reached to close 17 Dungeness crab harvest sites on the central coast to commercial and recreational fishing.

Scientists, First Nations team up in fresh attempt to revive struggling B.C. herring stocks / CBC News
Commercial fisheries have been cut back while scientists and First Nations attempt to bring them back to some areas by transplanting fertilized herring eggs.

Climate Change:

Climate Change Raises Risk of Prey Mismatch for Young Cod in Alaska / NOAA
For a young Pacific cod, first feeding is a life-or-death moment. Cod larva are nourished by a yolk sac after they hatch. Once the yolk sac is depleted, they must find food within days to survive. If there is no prey available during that critical window for first feeding, young fish face starvation.

Anglers and Boaters Support Offshore Wind Development / Fishing Wire
From boat enthusiasts to anglers, researchers found surprisingly widespread support with close to 77% of coastal recreation visitors supporting potential offshore Wind development along the New Hampsure Seacoast.

Industry:

Shimano Varsity Scholarships Return for 2021 / The Fishing Wire
If you’re passionate about the sport of fishing and are training for a career in fisheries biology and management, then you are invited to apply to a unique scholarship program, created through a partnership between Shimano North America Fishing and the conservation arm of B.A.S.S.

”It’s at our core”: new report underlines Costa’s commitment to conservation / Angling International
International eyewear brand Costa is celebrating more than 38 years of protecting the environment with the release of its first-ever Protect Report which highlights its achievements over three-plus decades. These include supporting coastal communities, cleaning coastlines and waterways, eliminating single-use water bottles and much more.

Simms CEO: newcomers will need educating / Angling International
Simms new CEO Casey Sheahan says gains in numbers of new fly fishers will be lost if rivers are not respected. We need to take care of and respect this environment, or people will be turned off. We need to welcome newcomers but spread the message of how to take care of the resource. One pet peeve of mine is people holding fish out of the water for an Instagram post. That stresses the fish. We need to tone it down and keep the fish in the water.

Boating:

BRP to Introduce Electric Models By 2026 / Fishing Wire
BRP announced its five-year plan, which will offer electric models in each of its product lines by the end of 2026.

Boat Builders Struggle to Fill Back Orders / Fishing Wire
2020 was both a historic year for retail boat sales and a disruptive year for boat builders working to meet the heightened demand and replenish record low inventories amid challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Lower Cost Electric Outboard from Torqeedo
The two-horsepower-equivalent, direct-drive, short shaft motor is the lightest in its power class, weighing just 15.5 kg (34 lbs.) complete, including battery.

Brunswick Corporation announces major expansion of its iJet Innovation Lab / Fishing Wire
Brunswick Corporation today announced a major expansion of its iJet Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois to support an acceleration of the Company’s ACES (Autonomy, Connectivity and Electrification) strategy and vision to use technology and design to enhance the recreational boating experience.

Arts:

Seaspiracy Harms More Than It Educates / Hakai Magazine
The appeal of the Netflix hit is that it suggests there’s one solution to the ocean’s woes. That’s not true. A marine ecologist explains.

Special Feature: Interview with Alexandra Morton on her new book “Not on My Watch”

Dr. Alexandra Morton has dedicated her life to researching and understanding B.C.’s complex and interconnected coastal ecosystems. Her new book “Not On My Watch” chronicles Alexandra’s effort and ultimate fight to get the truth out about the ruinous impacts of open pen salmon farming on wild pacific salmon. Her commitment to conduct science in the face of overwhelming opposition, and to speak truth to those in power bent on silencing her voice, is not only turning the page on an exploitative and destructive industry but serves as a shining example of what it means to put nature first. Link below to hear what Alexandra Morton sacrificed personally and professionally on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/not-on-my-watch-with-alexandra-morton/

About us:

Subscribe to receive the Blue Fish Canada news in your inbox.
Read back issues of the Blue Fish Canada News
Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast.
Email us your news or podcast story ideas.
Donate to Blue Fish Canada, a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity.

April 15 is coming soon

Blue Fish Canada is hosting the premier streaming of the Canadian documentary “What Lies Below”. Fresh off it’s 3-year run on CBC’s Doc Channel, What Lies Below explores ten stories of threats to fish and fishing, including the guides who came to the defence of Fraser River Sturgeon. Please let others know about this “must-see” event!

Link here to watch the trailer
Link here to set a reminder for April 15, 7: p.m. EDST.

In the March 29, 2021 issue of the Blue Fish Canada News, we begin with a focus on Fraser River sturgeon including the latest analysis, research and local knowledge. As always, we include a specially curated list of summaries and links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news, and close with a spotlight guest article by sturgeon champion Kevin Estrada guaranteed to inform and inspire our readers.

This Week’s Feature: Angler Champions of Fraser River Sturgeon

My first mission when filming the documentary What Lies Below was to meet the anglers behind the conservation movement to conserve and protect Fraser River sturgeon. This iconic freshwater giant has come close to meeting it’s demise numerous times over the past 100 years due to unregulated and often illegal commercial fishing. The sturgeon being harvested in the early 1900’s were so big that they used steam-driven giant winches on shore to haul in these behemoths measuring up to five meters in length and weighing as much as 700 kilograms. The conservation movement was born in the 1990’s when high profile anglers such as the “Man in Motion” himself, Rick Hanson, rallied anglers when upwards of 34 adult white sturgeon were found dead along the banks of the Fraser River.

The angler-driven conservation movement is one of Canada’s premier citizen science success stories. One of its leaders is Kevin Estrada, owner of Sturgeon Slayers guided fishing. Kevin is one of over 100 guides focussing their operations on “Catch, Record, Release”, collecting valuable data on both adult and juvenile sturgeon. A former board member of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, and now Director of the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association, Kevin’s leadership includes gathering 60,000 signatures in support of the first-ever parliamentary bill on sturgeon. The bill calls for the transition away from using gill nets in the Fraser River by non-recreational salmon harvesters, to more sustainable forms of salmon harvesting that prevent indiscriminate harm to fish like juvenile sturgeon and steelhead. Kevin is also leading a new citizen science initiative that involves guides supervising high school students to tag and track juvenile sturgeon. Link below to hear Kevin speak about his passion and work to conserve Fraser River sturgeon on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/fraser-river-sturgeon-champion-kevin-estrada/

Lots has happened since I was in B.C. in 2011 filming with guides on the Fraser River catching, tagging and tracking adult sturgeon. At the time, tagging equipment was costly and in short supply. Guides focussed their limited resources on tagging adult sturgeon, which meant juvenile fish such as the half-dozen I caught my first day on the Fraser went unreported. Never-the-less, it’s through their citizen science that these same guides, often independent of government, have established seasons and sanctuaries, and fish handling best practices. For example, captured sturgeon measuring over 150 cm can no longer be lifted out of the water at any time including during hook release, measuring, scanning or tagging, even when the guide and angler are standing in the water with the fish. Specially developed boat-side cradles now keep fish calm and submerged until their release.

Thankfully, data gaps such as the tagging and tracking of juvenile sturgeon is now being addressed by the guides. Evidence has been collected showing why sturgeon in-around the 100 cm length are lower in number compared to smaller and larger fish. However, numerous other threats outside the control of these dedicated conservationist anglers remain. Gravel extraction at sturgeon spawning sites, habitat destruction throughout many of B.C.’s rivers, dams and forestry causing siltation and erosion, development and hardening of shorelines, climate change, and more continue to threaten sturgeon survival throughout much of B.C.

Whether the conservation and citizen science being demonstrated by anglers along the lower Fraser is responsible for preventing the demise of sturgeon in this free-flowing section of the river is difficult to say. What is certain though, angler advocacy and actions prove that the fait of sturgeon is not written in stone. There is now science and substantial local knowledge on how best to study and conserve sturgeon, thanks to these dedicated anglers who refuse to accept defeat.

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Fraser fish finders: Chilliwack kids join in sturgeon data collection – Vancouver Sun
Conservation, education and science tied into one – students were out on the water with volunteers from the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association. A two-decades-old group, the FVAGA are guides who are passionate about keeping the fishing of Pacific salmon, steelhead trout and sturgeon sustainable.

Attempting to explain a lifelong passion – Salmon Arm Observer
“Fishing was a part of my growing up. It is a part of who I am. I make no excuses for finding a simple pleasure in the catching of a fish.”

Pressure on B.C. gov’t to fix trespassing laws that favour landowners – Vancouver Sun
A B.C. Court of Appeal ruling allows one of the world’s richest men to continue to stop anglers from accessing two lakes on his mammoth cattle ranch near Merritt even though the lakes are publicly owned. “Unlike other jurisdictions, British Columbia does not have public access legislation,” says judge, inspiring people to call for action.

Sturgeon Retention Closes on Columbia’s John Day Pool – Fishing Wire
Sturgeon retention fishing closed in the John Day Pool of the Columbia River (John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam) on March 18.

Sturgeon Fishing Opens May 10 in Columbia River Estuary – Fishing Wire
Starting May 10, anglers will have an opportunity to catch and retain legal-size white sturgeon in the lower 40 miles of the Columbia River.

Michigan’s Black Lake Sturgeon Season Over in Hours – The Fishing Wire
After only two hours of fishing, this year’s sturgeon season on Michigan’s Black Lake ended slightly after 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. The season, which included spearing and hook-and-line fishing, was scheduled to run Feb. 6-10, or until the harvest limit quota of six lake sturgeon had been reached. More than 500 registered anglers, including a good number of supervised youth, took part in the 2021 fishery.

N.L. fisheries minister calls for pause of south coast fishery decision as feds float idea of moratorium – CBC News
Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries Minister is calling on the Federal Fisheries Minister to pause the decision to possibly shut down the 3Ps cod fishery, citing concerns over modelling and the science used.

New event: The Presidential Women’s World Virtual Fishing Challenge
While dates have not been set at this time, it’s scheduled to occur in early 2022 and will be open to women anglers around the world, with no age limit. Since the event is virtual, scoring will take place using the CaptApp application, which verifies catches using video and geo-location. Eligible species will include all billfish species (100 percent release) as well as mahimahi and tuna, which may be weighed or measured. To encourage females of all skill levels to participate, the rules will include a “hook and hand” provision. According to coordinator Joan Vernon, “each team will fish for a set number of hours in their home waters anywhere in the world”. For more information email joan@preschallenge.com

Fish:

Salmon society calls for moratorium on vehicle access to gravel bars near Chilliwack – Chilliwack Progress
The Fraser Valley Salmon Society is calling for a moratorium on vehicle traffic on two gravel bars that have seen a barrage of use and environmental abuse.

Lillooet, B.C. ‘fishway’ project pushes forward despite some snags – Journal of Commerce
Construction crews have begun laying the groundwork for a 100-metre-long covered highway for salmon that is to be installed along the Fraser River at the site of the Big Bar landslide. The structure, aptly called a fishway, will enable salmon and steelhead populations to swim northward through a concrete and steel tube to reach their spawning grounds in the upper part of the river.

Miscounted Fish May Be Skewing Population Sizes – Hakai Magazine
By catching and counting the same tagged fish multiple times, researchers may be overestimating how many fish there are.

Herring integral to B.C.’s ecological health and preservation of Nuu-chah-nulth traditions – The Star
Out of five regions on B.C.’s coast where the fish are monitored, only the Strait of Georgia experienced a biomass volume capable of having a commercial herring fishery this year.

Returning Fundy’s Fish to the Wild – Hakai Magazine
From the gene bank to the wild, a novel conservation effort has brought the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon back from the brink.

Canada is failing its freshwater fish populations – Globe and Mail
Canada needs to better value freshwater fish and recognize their roles in ecosystems and the diverse ways in which they benefit residents, experts say.

Sacrificing wild Atlantic salmon for gold – Halifax Examiner
A PROJECT THAT IS UNDOING ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE FROM ACID RAIN FINDS ITSELF UNDER THREAT FROM A GOLD MINE PROPOSED on Nova Scotia’s Moose River about 30 kilometres from Beaver Dam.

NB maps out protection for Atlantic salmon habitat – ASF
Conservationists are feeling hopeful that the new Nature Legacy initiative will lead to protection of ten per cent of the province’s land, up from the current 4.6 per cent. It’s good news for wild Atlantic salmon, as many important headwaters and cold-water features are slated for protection.

Anglers tell aquaculture industry to prove it doesn’t harm wild salmon – ASF
The Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland wrote to the NL aquaculture industry’s association asking their members to fund studies of salmon rivers surrounding Placentia Bay, to gauge the impact of the net-pen industry.

Industry body backs move to close last US driftnet fishery – Angling International
The US sportfishing industry is backing efforts to bring an end to the last remaining driftnet fishery in the US. The Californian fishery ranks among the most destructive in the nation, says the American Sportfishing Association (ASA). The mile-long, large mesh nets still being used in California waters indiscriminately catch anything in their path. Less than half the catch is non-marketable and is discarded back into the sea as dead waste.

Diversity of Fish Species Support Killer Whale Diet Throughout the Year – NOAA Fisheries
Endangered Southern Resident killer whales prey on a diversity of Chinook and other salmon. A new analysis shows the stocks come from an enormous geographic range as far north as Alaska and as far south as California’s Central Valley. “If returns to the Fraser River are in trouble, and Columbia River returns are strong, then prey availability to the whales potentially balances out as the whales have evolved to move rapidly throughout their range,” said NOAA Fisheries wildlife biologist Brad Hanson.

Water:

A Coastal Squeeze – The Tyee
Where the Fraser River meets the Salish, Sea lies British Columbia’s largest—and most important—estuary. Caught between infrastructure built to counter sea level rise around the cities of Vancouver and Richmond to the east, and rising seas from the west, the estuary is facing what’s called a coastal squeeze.

Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako calls on restoration of the Nechako River – Terrace Standard
RDBN chairperson and Vanderhoof Mayor said, “Local communities, First Nations and non-Indigenous communities alike have suffered from the impacts of the Nechako water management regime which has prioritized energy production over a healthy river and fish populations.”

Salmon farm reapplies for three-year permit to dump sea lice pesticide in B.C. coastal waters – The Narwhal
Cermaq has applied for a new permit to dump almost 3,000 bathtubs of a sea lice pesticide in Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve waters, as companies head to court to challenge a federal decision to terminate salmon farming in the Discovery Islands.

NS to Pull Plug on Annapolis Tidal Power – ASF
A Nova Scotia tidal power plant that largely blocked fish migration has long been a source of concern for conservationists. Now it is likely to be removed.

Indigenous:

Tsilhqot’in Nation fights B.C.’s approval of Gibraltar mine’s waste discharge into Fraser River – The Narwhal
A provincial permit allows the mine to discharge the equivalent of nearly 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools of wastewater into the river daily during select months.

Indigenous fishers charged during closure to argue in court – Williams Lake Tribune
Closures had been declared by the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council Fisheries Department and Tsilhqot’in Nation Council of Chiefs, who said the Big Bar landslide along the Fraser River had created a crisis for returning salmon. “It’s a communal right, not an individual right,” Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) tribal chair Chief Joe Alphonse told Black Press Media.

Industry:New Enviro-Friendly Fishing Lines – Angling International
Fishing tackle manufacturers bring new more environmentally friendly fishing lines to market. Green brands TUF-Line goes biodegradable and Rapala unveils 100% recycled mono line

Boating:

Abandoned Boats webinar – FOCA
On Wednesday, April 7 from 4-6pm EDST FOCA’s partners at Boating Ontario are hosting a webinar about abandoned boats, including Transport Canada speaking about the ‘Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act’. No registration is necessary for this free event. Click here to join the webinar at the start time above

Books:

“Not on My Watch” By Alexandra Morton – The Star
“I have spent the past three decades exhausting every means possible to protect the wild salmon of the B.C. coast from what seemed like their inevitable demise from the impact of salmon farms. My research made it painfully clear: wild salmon were simply not designed to survive the level of pathogens seeping out of the floating salmon farms.”

Arts:

Coastal Job: Fish Print Artist – Hakai Magazine
Visual artist specializes in making prints from fish, honoring a Japanese tradition known as gyotaku – meaning “fish” (gyo) and “rubbing” (taku). A technique developed around 200 years ago as a way for fishermen to document their catches.

Special Guest Feature: What Does Conservation Mean To You

By Kevin Estrada
(Extracts from the March 2, 2021 article in BC Outdoors Magazine)

In this modern era of aware fishermen and women, conservation has been re-defined. The Fraser River sturgeon fishery and the angling community have been a shining example of what leadership, change and conservation looks like.

Over the past 25 years, the angling community on the Fraser River have gone above and beyond in redefining what the word conservation means. Significant cultural change has taken place over the last decade, which has shown the upmost care and respect for sturgeon. In the meantime, sustained advocacy will continue to push forward for funding for science and change for the future.

There are some uniquely positioned individuals involved around sturgeon that have the influence and knowledge to push for change in the gill net fisheries. They have thus far turned a blind eye or at the very least downplayed the impacts. There is no more time available to play politics around their survival and that of our wild stock species. The public is becoming aware of the issues and if progress isn’t made, then it will be well known the tactics (failure) that have been taken to minimize their impacts.

The most recent attempt was the DFO Recovery Potential Assessment review for the listing of white sturgeon under the Species at Risk Act this past September. A group of individuals were asked to participate in reviewing science, and I was invited to this discussion. Despite gill nets being the scientifically most well-known cause of the decline in specific size classes, gill nets were given a medium threat level instead of high. This is a problem. Politics. In my opinion, we are too worried about social issues instead of the clear science. Nobody is saying stakeholders cannot have salmon, we are advocating to harvest them sustainably.

Like many issues we see today in our world, science gets drowned out by the loudest and most influential voice (publicly or behind closed doors). That is called politics, and a species that has survived 200 million years does not deserve the fate of politics. They supersede humans.

To be honest, I don’t know what the word conservation means anymore. It’s been twisted and turned as something government and the private sector can point to and say, “We’ve done something, look at how good we are.” For me, it’s probably more of a way of life, a guiding star, and maybe even a word to challenge people on. When the virtue signalling starts on conservation, I ask, “What have you actually done for the word conservation to mean something?” If the answer is just an Instagram post, then sorry, you don’t make the cut. Do more.

About us:

Subscribe to receive the Blue Fish Canada news in your inbox.
Read back-issues of the Blue Fish Canada News
Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast.
Email us your news or podcast story ideas.
Donate to Blue Fish Canada, a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity.

In this February 8, 2021 issue of the Blue Fish Canada News our focus is on Atlantic Canada fish health and the Ocean Tracking Network. As always, we offer a curated list of summaries and Links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news. We close with a call to action to protect Muskie issued by the Chair of the St John River Muskie Canada Chapter.

This Week’s Feature: Atlantic Canada’s Fish health and the Ocean Tracking Network

I first visited Atlantic Canada with my parents and three brothers in 1969 and new then I would be back. In 1986 I purchased a small cabin on a 5-kilometer-long gut that connected the Catalone River with the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll never forget the sound of Atlantic Salmon following the shoreline each night as they moved into the river for their summer spawn. By the time I sold the cabin 14 years later, the salmon had stopped coming and the Cod fishery was closed. Worse, scientists couldn’t even agree on what happened. Thanks to satellite tagging technology and the Ocean Tracking Network, we know a lot more now.

Oceans are warming, fish are moving, so what can Canada’s Ocean Tracking Network tell us? We speak with dr. Frederick Whoriskey Executive Director of the Ocean Tracking Network from Dalhousie University. Fred brings us up to speed on everything from Atlantic Salmon and Arctic Char, to Greenland and Great White sharks, and more. Link below to find out how Canada’s east coast fish species are fairing, and why Striped Bass numbers are on the rise, on The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/canadas-atlantic-fish-species-and-the-ocean-tracking-network/

Speaking with Fred teleported me right back to my cabin on Cape Bretton Island – I could almost smell the ocean spray and hear the roar of the surf. It would have made for a great spot to hunker down this past year for sure. Can’t wait to go back — plenty of old and new friends to visit, and a much stronger stewardship capacity to celebrate. Fred’s right, it takes a combined effort from a wide cross-section of experts and people with local and indigenous knowledge to turn things around, and Atlantic Canada has plenty of both.

The Latest Fishing, fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

100 Mile House man catches massive 27-pound lake trout – iNFOnews
A 100 Mile House resident, known by his family as “the fish whisperer” got the catch of his life this week when he found a 27-pound lake trout. The angler estimated at that size, the freshwater char was roughly 50 years old. “I put it back down in the hole to be caught another time, who knows, maybe when it’s even bigger,” he said.

Manitoba RCMP, fishing guides issue warnings with lakes ‘busier than ever’ – Granthshala Canada
Members of the ice fishing community near Selark are still recovering, as a couple was found dead in their camp on the Red River at St Clements’s RM, north of CIL Road. Carbon monoxide being the likely cause. A local guide says several incidents have occurred in the past month near Winnipeg, with fishermen needing airlift to those trapped on ice overnight. A spokesman for the Manitoba RCMP said officials are reporting an increase in the amount of ice fishing. “It pissed me off, I was really surprised,” said Todd Longley, a professional fishing guide from the Winnipeg area.

2020 Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation Member Of The Year – OBN
The Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation is proud to announce that our 2020 Member of the Year is Mark Rorke from the St. Catharines Bassmasters! Mark is and has been an outstanding member of the Ontario BASS Nation for many years now. Mark is always giving back at the club and Team Ontario levels. Notably in the last few years by growing the St. Catharines Bassmasters Youth Program.

New winter fishery presents fun challenge for P.E.I. anglers – CBC News
Anglers on P.E.I. are being given a chance to fish for perch through the ice this year, in an experiment to see if a regular fishery is viable. The licence is free, but you must apply and report all you catch. Because the perch are coastal, the province is partnering with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the project.

Ontario Provincial Police say ice fishing allowed, but no staying overnight in ice huts – CBC News
Regulations imposed by the provincial government have left many anglers wondering if they are able to stay at their ice shacks overnight. The quick answer is no. During the day, fishing is allowed, said Sgt. Mike Golding, with the OPP in Thunder Bay. He said if you are outside, anglers must be in a group of five or less. However, once an ice shack gets involved, the answers are a little more complex. “You have to be there for less than 24 hours, you cannot spend the night, and then travel back,” said Golding. He said the rules apply to anglers who have their own ice hut or those who had booked a rental prior to the lockdown.

EU-wide ban on lead in fishing sinkers and lures looms closer – Angling International
The European body investigating the effect of lead in fishing tackle on the environment and health has concluded that an EU-wide restriction on its use would be justified. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has also called for an immediate ban on the use of lead sinkers when they are deliberately dropped to the waterbed – a technique commonly known as lead drop-off and popular with carp anglers. A ban on the sale and use of lead sinkers and lures is being proposed period of three years for those weighing under 50g and five years for those over 50g from the date the ban is brought into force. Health and environmental risks posed by the use of lead in outdoor sports puts an estimated 127 million birds at risk each year, and that citizens are also exposed to lead when making fishing sinkers and lures at home. Exposure lead is especially harmful to the neurological development of children.

Fish Health:

On the Briny Ocean Toss – ASF
Research gets physical, especially in the whipped-up seas of the Strait of Belle between Labrador and Newfoundland. The strait is the highway to the North Atlantic for juvenile and adult salmon leaving the Gulf of St. Lawrence and it where ASF researchers meet them to gather data about survival and migration in warming water. Here’s the story of one season on the water.

Muskie Canada calls on anglers to take action to save New Brunswick Muskie at Risk – MCI
Currently and in past years, New Brunswick DFO kills up to 60 Muskies per year at the Saint John River dams fish ladders. The Muskie stomach content research by Canadian Rivers Institute has shown zero predation of trout or salmon, and yet the NB Department of Natural Resources offers no protection, has no set fishing season, and limits are 5 muskies per day of any size any day of the year. Please complete this survey to help the Musky Fishery in New Brunswick whether you are a resident of New Brunswick or not.

Consultation: Lake Simcoe Protection Plan 10-year review – Ontario.ca
Lake Simcoe is the largest inland lake in southern Ontario and is home to more than 450,000 people. Ontario residents are invited to take part in a Virtual town hall will to be held on February 11, 2021, at 12:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Learn about the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan and hear highlights of progress made to protect and restore the lake. Share your perspectives on the plan and suggest ideas that could help protect and restore the health of the lake and watershed.

Campaign launch: #peopleforsalmon – ASF
Listing some populations of Atlantic salmon under the Species at Risk Act in Canada might sound positive, but upon closer inspection, evidence and experience shows this bureaucratic measure will hamper conservation and close rivers unnecessarily. Learn more and add your voice to keep rivers open and conservation alive:

Aquaculture companies take Canada to court – National Observer
Following DFO’s termination of 19 open net-pen salmon aquaculture licenses in BC waters, Mowi, Cermaq, and Grieg have filed suit. The soon-to-be-shuttered farms are on key migration routes for wild juvenile salmon, and eliminating operations in the Discovery Islands was a recommendation made by the 2012 Cohen Commission investigating the decline of Fraser River sockeye.

Scientists puzzled by 30,000 chinook that seem to be missing from Yukon River – CBC News
There’s a mystery in Yukon and Alaska and it involves about 30,000 missing chinook salmon.

Magnuson-Stevens Act Update in Process – Fishing Wire
The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the U.S. federal fisheries law, has not been reauthorized since 2006. And with a robust new draft bill to amend it, House lawmakers are breathing new life into the conversation about managing U.S. fisheries.

DFO is making new fishing rules. Will they work? – National Observer
In 1992, Canadians watched in horror as Newfoundland’s once-thriving cod stocks collapsed, leaving thousands without jobs and ecosystems transformed. Yet despite the horror, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has not been legally required to rebuild depleted fish stocks even as others, including the iconic salmon runs in B.C., have hit historic lows. That soon might change. Earlier this month, the federal government proposed a suite of changes to Canada’s fishing regulations that will force DFO to bring depleted commercial fish stocks back to abundant levels.

Harbour seals respond differently to pulses of out-migrating Coho and Chinook salmon smolts – Marine Mammal Research Unit
Predation by harbour seals is believed to significantly impact juvenile Coho and Chinook salmon as they enter the ocean. Biologging data from foraging harbour seals shows less impact on out-migrating salmon than expected. A few seals in the study population targeted juvenile Coho, and exerted less pressure on chinook—appearing instead to target other fish that are feeding on juvenile chinook.

Hundreds of goldfish in Fredericton duck pond present major risk – CBC News
Goldfish are highly predacious on native species, so they could clean up a population of juvenile trout, salmon and other fish in short order.

Trout Unlimited Supports Climate Change Initiatives – Fishing Wire
As President Biden signed an executive order aimed at beginning to address climate change, Trout Unlimited applauded the administration’s leadership on this issue of critical importance. These ambitious initiatives will help the nation protect sources of cold, clean, fishable water, and recover nature’s resilience to the more intense floods…

Water Quality:

Nova Scotia Announces Provisional List of Protected Areas – ASF
The province released a list of areas that will help reach its goal for protected lands, one proposed area that could secure the St. Mary’s River from Atlantic Gold’s proposed Cochrane Hill project didn’t make the list this time.

New Map Shows Dozens of Mine Pollution Threats In BC – SkeenaWild
SkeenaWild and the BC Mining Law Reform network released a new map pointing to over a hundred known and potentially contaminated mine waste sites that threaten to pollute waters, fish habitat and communities across the province. Concerns over mining have been growing since the 2014 Mount Polley disaster and 2016.

Even in Alaska: Fish Harvest Closed on Fairbanks Lakes Due to PFAS – Fishing Wire
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is continuing the restrictions on Bathing Beauty Pond and Kimberly, Bear, Moose, and Polaris lakes. In 2019, surface water in Kimberly Lake tested to exceed EPA and DEC actions levels of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Sport fishing at Kimberly Lake remains closed. For Bathing Beauty Pond and Bear, Moose, and Polaris Lakes, all fish species caught may not be retained and must be released immediately (catch-and-release only).

Atlantic Gold in Court facing environment charges in Nova Scotia – ASF
The company faces 32 charges under the Nova Scotia Environment Act, most related to heavy soil runoff from the company’s Moose River gold mine.

Bid to Overturn Tanker Ban on North Coast Fails – The Tyee
After 40 years’ debate, proponents are still pushing for oil exports via BC’s ports. And residents are still pushing back. Canada put in place a moratorium in 1972 following the U.S. construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which was expected to bring two million barrels of oil down the west coast each day in tankers. The moratorium was a way to pressure the U.S. government to avoid the Canadian coastline. Bill C-48 was passed in 2019 now prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of crude oil from stopping at B.C. ports between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern tip of the Alaskan Panhandle. A Conservative MP’s attempt to reverse the ban on oil tankers on British Columbia’s north coast was defeated in the House of Commons on February 3 2021.

The Looming Threat of the World’s Aging Dams – Yale E360
Tens of thousands of large dams are reaching the end of their expected lifespans, leading to a dramatic rise in structural failures and collapses. These deteriorating dams pose a serious threat to hundreds of millions of people living downstream, yet, as the new report claims, safety inspectors cannot keep up with the workload. Globally, there are an estimated 19,000 large dams more than 50 years old, which is beyond the typical lifespan before a dam needs major repairs or removal. According to the report, “By 2050, most of humanity will live downstream of large dams built in the 20th century” that are “at increasing risk of failure.”

Indigenous:

This serene B.C. island beach with Indigenous cultural ties is now a protected nature reserve – Coast Reporter
A serene beach on an island in Howe Sound, with remarkable biodiversity and First Nations cultural significance, is now a protected nature reserve.

Living with Water project explores coastal adaptation plans to address rising sea levels – Martlet
Indigenous communities will partner with researchers and governments to explore cutting-edge solutions.

Nisga’a scholar launches new Centre for Indigenous Fisheries at UBC – UBC News
A new Centre for Indigenous Fisheries is being launched at University of British Columbia.

Industry:

Bass Pro Shops founder announces huge amateur tournament – Angling International
More than $4million – the biggest payout in the history of fishing – is being offered by a new amateur tournament announced by Johnny Morris. And a further $1million will be donated to conservation. Following a series of U.S. regional qualifying rounds starting this Spring, 350 two-angler teams will compete in a three-day championship finale in autumn on Table Rock Lake.

Getting Back to Business at ICAST 2021 – ASA
This July, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show is headed back to Orlando. This year marks the 64th consecutive recreational fishing trade show produced by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) for its members and the recreational fishing industry. ICAST 2021 is scheduled for July 20 – 23. While the health, safety and security of exhibitors and attendees continues to be our top priority,” emphasized ASA President Glenn Hughes, “we are all looking forward to getting back to business.

The IGFA International Auction is Now LIVE! – IGFA
The 37th Annual IGFA International Auction is now open! Place your bids now on incredible trips, tackle, artwork, jewelry and more, until the silent auction closes on February 14, 2021. New items will be added daily. On Saturday, February 13, the virtual LIVE auction will feature a limited number of world-class angling adventures!

Boating:

Brunswick Adds Boat Capacity to Meet Unprecedented Demand – Fishing Wire
Brunswick will reopen its 225,000 square-foot Palm Coast, Florida boat manufacturing facility to expand dedicated manufacturing capability for Boston Whaler products by an additional 40 percent. In addition, Brunswick is expanding boat manufacturing capacity at its Reynosa, Mexico facility. The Reynosa facility, which manufactures Bayliner, Heyday, Sea Ray and Lund fiberglass boats, will increase capacity by 58 percent over the next 18 months.

Arts:

Kids’ Fish Art Contest – MNRF
Ontario students are invited to enter the Kids’ Fish Art Contest. This free annual contest lets you show off your artistic talents and learn about Ontario’s native fish and their habitats. If you win top prize, your winning image will be on the cover of the 2022 Ontario Fishing Regulations.

Memoir explores Nova Scotia rivers and glory days of fishing – The Chronicle Herald
In his new memoir, Harry Thurston meditates on the curious and beautiful ways that fishing, rivers, and the people he has fished with have shaped his seven decades of life.

Special Feature: New Brunswick Muskies in the Saint John River need your Help

Marlon Prince is the Chair of the Saint John River Muskie Canada Chapter. He recently sent out the following call to action.

WE NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE!

Please take 5 min for the attached survey to help the Musky Fishery in New Brunswick. Whether you are a resident of New Brunswick or not.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdIROaj4ftCEtT3FKxaZvKHImuIcE2UcHmZiVigKuFpQybTQ/closedform

• Currently and in past years, New Brunswick DFO kills up to or over 60 Muskies per year at the Saint John River dams fish ladders
• DNR has no protection, no set fishing season and limits are 5 muskies per day at any size

As a Muskies Canada chapter chairman, I am working with UNB Biologists and DNR to create a management plan with the goal of protecting our resource. I could go on forever on this topic, but bottom line is:

• these Muskies have been in the system for nearly 60 years and continue to thrive as a now naturalized part of the ecosystem. We are well past the point of them being considered invasive
• we have a trophy fishery that continues to draw in new anglers, support guides, businesses and a Muskies Canada Chapter present since the early 2000s
• there is ZERO evidence that the muskies are having a negative effect on the dwindling and mismanaged populations of native species in the river such as trout and salmon
• on the contrary, stomach content studies by Canadian Rivers Institute have shown zero predation of those species.

This is a pivotal point in our goal to embrace and seek protection for this fishery and your help would be very much appreciated

About us:

You can read current and back issues of Blue Fish Canada’s Newsletters by visiting: www.BlueFishCanada.ca

For more about Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only blind professional angler, conservationist, writer, blogger, podcaster, film maker and TV personality, visit: www.LawrenceGunther.com

Gunther founded the charity Blue Fish Canada in 2012 and launched the podcast Blue Fish Radio in 2013.

Please rate The Blue Fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast so others will learn of this unique Canadian resource by visiting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blue-fish-radio-show/id1090189487?uo=4

Should you have a podcast suggestion or resource you would like to share, please send us a message to: Admin@BlueFishCanada.ca

Blue Fish Canada is a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity. Please consider making a small monthly donation to off-set the costs of this Newsletter and our other Blue Fish Canada programs by visiting: https://bluefishcanada.ca/donations/

In this issue of the Blue Fish News, we begin with a focus on Alberta’s troubled native trout and government actions underway that will either save or further imperil the fish and the cold clear mountain rivers upon which they depend. As always, we present summaries and links to a curated list of timely fishing, fish, water and related news articles and research publications. We end with a spotlight resource selected to inform and inspire readers in the art of sustainable angling.

This Week’s Feature: Alberta’s Famous Trout Under Threat

Westslope Cutthroat Trout, bull trout and Athabasca rainbow trout are native trout species found in Alberta that need help. Restoring and protecting these native species and the diversity they represent is crucial if Canada is to maintain its world-class fisheries. Of course, all of this is moot if Alberta’s newly announced open pit coal mining is to commence in the headwaters of the rivers that these fish inhabit.

Native trout populations across the East Slopes of Alberta have experienced severe declines in population size and distribution. The Government of Alberta supports the Westslope Cutthroat Trout Recovery Program and the North Central Native Trout Recovery Program as stipulated by provincial Fisheries legislation. According to Alberta’s government the Recovery Programs are designed to “provide a comprehensive, consistent and progressive framework towards fish species recovery”, and “facilitate cross-ministry partnerships on fish recovery strategies”.

I learned about Alberta’s dedication to restoring native trout species by visiting the Alberta Conservation Association website, and those of their many local stakeholder partners involved in the government-funded recovery programs. I also spoke with senior Alberta Conservation Association biologist Mike Rodtka. Listen to my conversation with Mike Rodtka on this episode of The Blue Fish Radio Show: https://bluefishradio.com/rescuing-albertas-native-trout/

In June 2020, Alberta rescinded its watershed protection policy opening sensitive habitat to strip mines. There was no public consultation. Coal companies from Australia were quick to secure leases and have already begun building roads and conducting exploratory drilling.

Alberta isn’t the only province permitting open pit coal mining to take place in the Rocky Mountains. Canadian mining company Teck Resources operates five coal mines in BC’s Elk valley, the largest being the Fording River mine. In 2014 Teck was warned about increasing toxic selenium pollution emanating from its five Elk Valley mine sites and undertook steps to mitigate the issue. In April 2020 Tech reported an increase in selenium pollution and a 93% decline in the West Slope Cutthroat Trout population in the Fording River. Despite their best efforts, the Tech mining company is unable to prevent selenium associated with their mining waste from entering the ecosystem.

Following calls from a broad cross-section of vocal stakeholders for Alberta to reverse its unilateral position to allow open pit coal mining, Alberta recently announced a temporary moratorium on issuing any new leases but has yet to reverse its decision to remove the decades-old protections that once safeguarded these lands. Kevin Van Tighem is one of many Albertan’s speaking out about the government’s need to reinstate protections of these watersheds and is our guest on The Blue Fish Radio show. Link below to hear my interview with Kevin about what the potential loss of these trout and their habitat would say to Albertans and the rest of the world, and whether the jobs associated with foreign owned coal mines that would operate on average for 20 years justifies their sacrifice: https://bluefishradio.com/albertas-native-trout-versus-coal/

It’s not unusual for a government to operate with apparently contradictory goals. What’s happening in Alberta, pitching economic growth against the future viability of its natural bounty, is one that has played out across Canada and the rest of the world for decades. The difference now is that the stakes are far higher given our technical capacity to affect change on scales that 100 years ago were unimaginable. What else has changed is that people now have the tools to learn of such proposed changes, and to communicate and organize opposition in real time. Gone are the days of politicians banking on the assumption that they can operate with immunity based on the “trust us” principle. They must now instead engage their electorate and stakeholders meaningfully or lose the public’s trust. Special interest groups are also finding that they too must now gather and share the science and knowledge used to formulate their positions. It’s a level of transparency and accountability people now expect during these sorts of economic / environmental balancing questions. Hopefully, the days when the short-term interests of a few trumps the future reality of all the rest is becoming a thing of the past. But, it only works if people are engaged.

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Lake Erie Steelhead-Winter is Prime Time – The Fishing Wire
If you think the winter months are only for ice fishing rods, you might need to reconsider. Angler surveys regularly conducted on Lake Erie tributaries typically show that the highest catch rates for steelhead occur during the winter months. Coincidentally, this is also when the lowest angler effort also occurs. This is especially true during mild winters, such as the one we are currently experiencing.

Rare Under-Ice Behavior Captured on Video – The Fishing Wire
Burbot might as well be the groundhogs of the fish world. Each winter, almost like clockwork, burbot (aka eelpout) suddenly become common catches among ice anglers. Intriguing about the enigmatic eelpout is that for the rest of the year, no one particularly knows where they go. Saskatchewan fishery scientist Jeff Matity is working hard to solve the mystery.

Get Hooked on Alberta Fishing – Alberta Conservation Association
There are 21 aerated lakes across Alberta that are stocked with trout. The Alberta Conservation Association has created a map that showcases the combined stocking efforts of ACA and Alberta Environment and Parks. With over 130 lakes and ponds stocked with trout across Alberta, you can easily find an ice fishing haven near you.

Great Slave Lake winter fishery reopens – Cabin Radio
For the first time in 15 years, Hay River -in the Northwest Territories- winter fishery is opening as part of efforts to revitalize NWT commercial fishing. Under the program, the Hay River packing facility will receive and grade fish from commercial fishers in Yellowknife and Hay River. The fish will then be shipped to the federal Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation in Winnipeg for processing and sale.

Keep Fish Caught Deep in Winter – Fishing Wire
Keep fish caught from deep waters due to low survival rates for released fish. Catch-and-release fishing, no matter the time of year, is discouraged for fish caught in 30 feet or more of water, because fish reeled in from those depths have a greater chance of dying if released. Fish caught in deep water won’t likely survive because of the extreme change in water pressure, which causes the swim bladder to expand. Fish can no longer control their balance in the water column when this happens. Other internal injuries, such as rupturing of organs and bleeding, are also likely. Anglers targeting fish in deeper water make the commitment to keep what they catch. And once they reach their limit, anglers should stop fishing at that depth to avoid killing more than their limit of fish.

Recreational Fishing Booms in Hawaii During Pandemic – The Honolulu Star
Since the novel coronavirus made its way to Hawaii in March, Brent Young, owner of Brian’s Fishing Supply in Honolulu, has observed more interest in fishing. Some of his customers are new fishers who want to learn, and others are seniors who haven’t fished in decades, but have had more time to do so. And while many of them are looking to fish just as a hobby, Young has also noticed more customers who are out of work and need to fish. “We’ve had a lot … of people come in to say they catch the food because they’re not working, and they’ve been very thankful that we’ve been open”.

Pandemic has new and returning anglers hooked around Kamloops fishing holes – iNFOnews
As people look for outdoor recreation through the pandemic this winter, it appears many are choosing to dunk a lure into the region’s many fishing holes.

Debate Continues About Catch and Release Impact on Salmon Populations – VOCM
The debate continues among salmon anglers and conservation groups about catch and release and the impact on salmon populations. Junior Downey is with the Salmon Watchers Assistance Group or SWAG. His group is one of a few in the province which is against catch and release, and acknowledges that salmon groups in the province are divided on the issue. A federal petition has also been launched asking that catch and release be banned. Downey says most groups agree there is a 10 per cent mortality rate when it comes to catch and release in ideal conditions, but that rises as the water temperatures rise. His concern is that there are no controls over catch and release.

Fish:

Labrador’s Arctic char vulnerable to climate change, says new study – CBC News
A new study paints a troubling portrait of potential climate change impacts on Arctic char in Labrador, amid calls for more research to better understand what the future holds for the species that occupies a place of immense value in Canada’s North. The study, published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change, is the result of years of field and laboratory work by a team of Canadian scientists. The study analyzed the fish’s genetic data and, combined with climate modelling from 2050, concluded the southernmost fish are the most vulnerable and “may be unable to adapt to pervasive warming in the Arctic.”

Atlantic salmon in eastern Cape Breton could be added to list of species at risk– CBC News
Ottawa is considering listing Atlantic salmon in the region as endangered under its Species at Risk Act (SARA). But even if the salmon population is listed as endangered, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it won’t automatically stop recreational fishing. Bill Haley, president of the Margaree Salmon Association, said successful salmon stocking programs and hatcheries are helping conservation efforts. “The weak link in most of this is the investment in science hasn’t been there where DFO are concerned for almost a few decades,” Haley said.

Gizzard shad swarm in Thames River for once in a decade show – CBC
A shoal of gizzard shad, the size of which hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade, have congregated in an estuary along the Thames River in London, Ontario. Watch now!

Restoration Dollars Bring Six Times the Return on Investment – NOAA
A 2020 follow-up study confirms 2011 projections by calculating that a $10 million NOAA investment in habitat restoration is powering up local economies in Michigan by at least $57 million, with more benefits every year.

Canada’s ecosystem hotspots – The Narwhal
In 2017 conservation scientist Aerin Jacob was invited to join an expert team charged with advising the Canadian government on ways to meet its conservation targets. The team was asked to identify areas that provide important ecosystem services — such as landscape-based carbon storage, flood prevention, fresh water and food resources and outdoor recreation — so they could be taken into account when deciding where to put new protected areas. But there was just one problem: that information didn’t exist.

Invasive Species will be Winners and Losers Under Climate Change – IJC
Researchers who model climate change in the Great Lakes predict the waters will become warmer and subject to more intense storms in the decades ahead. These conditions will benefit some species and hurt others, including native and invasive creatures. If Asian carp invade Lake Michigan, for example, they may find more suitable habitat thanks to warmer waters, while invasive zebra and quagga mussels may have more trouble forming their shells.

I’m blue da ba dee da ba daa (and so are B.C. salmon) – The Narwhal
Remember when wild salmon in B.C. were plentiful? Changes to the farmed salmon industry could help bring back the good ol’ days. Critics have long charged that a big part of the problem lies within the province’s massive farmed salmon industry, whose open-net pens have been found to spread disease and sea lice to wild populations. The industry begs to differ and insists its operations pose no harm.

We’re Running Out of Seafood, Yet We Waste Billions of Pounds of It – Sierra Club
A 2015 study published in Global Environmental Change estimates that every year, almost half the seafood supply is lost. Globally, we lose 110 billion pounds. Considering it’s recommended that the average person consume at least 1.7 ounces of protein per day, that’s enough food to feed 2.8 billion people for a year. Here’s how commercial and social enterprises are making a dent in fishy food waste.

Water:

Five things the federal government must do for Lake Winnipeg – Lake Winnipeg Foundation
The Lake Winnipeg Foundation, in collaboration with the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective, recently released a position paper on how to achieve meaningful results in decreasing blue-green algae in Lake Winnipeg.

Microplastics found in Arctic Ocean could be from clothing – The Narwhal
A new study shows that the synthetic fibres being found throughout the Arctic Ocean are threatening wildlife and Indigenous ways of life. Who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might be contributing to the problem? Evidence increasingly shows that tiny synthetic fibres are permeating the Arctic Ocean and finding their way into zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.

The Sixth Great Lake is Under Your Feet – IJC
Between 20-40 percent of the water budget of the Great Lakes (the total water flowing in and out of the system) originates as groundwater. Without this unseen water, the Great Lakes would be dramatically different from those we know. Although the exact influence of groundwater on the quality of the surface waters of the Great Lakes has not been pinpointed, plumes of contaminated groundwater often discharge to lakes and streams. Strengthening public appreciation of and public policy protecting groundwater is a fundamental part of Great Lakes stewardship.

Where did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill go – NOAA
NOAA Sea Grant partners in the Gulf of Mexico released a short video that provides a clear explanation of where oil went after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The spill occurred at a depth of 5,000 feet and lasted 87 days.

The Big Picture: The biggest freshwater reserves – The Guardian
Water is necessary to life on Earth, but some countries have very little and others have enormous endowments. It is estimated that a quarter of the world’s population is at risk of water shortages, a problem only exacerbated by climate change. Countries like Qatar, Israel and Lebanon are among those most at risk of “water stress.” Meanwhile, other countries have more water than they need — including Canada. This country ranks third worldwide in freshwater reserves, which is generally considered to be water with low concentrations of dissolved salts. It can be found in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, bogs, ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers and even underground (known as groundwater). While Canada’s resources are immense, they are only about half of those found in Brazil, the world leader in freshwater reserves.

Indigenous:

A letter from Henry Lickers – IJC
I write this letter to share my experiences as an Indigenous scientist. On the reserve, I had always wondered what job and who would pay me to play in nature. I was naturally drawn to the water, which seems to link everything together, and I decided to become a biologist. I, too, have had problems talking to and understanding the knowledge of my people, the Haudenosaunee. I hope that by sharing my story, you will become more aware of and curious about Indigenous ways and the importance of drawing from multiple knowledge systems.

Industry:

Lead is Dead…but Tungsten is here to stay – Clam Outdoors
There’s a quote in the tackle industry that is starting to take off…Lead is Dead. This is referring to the fact that many states are banning lead, and the trend is going to continue. Watch as Clam Pro Tackle Director John Crane talks about the benefits of tungsten tackle and talks about some of the most popular Tungsten CPT jigs on the market.

Simrad Continues Partnership with Gray Fish Tagging – The Fishing Wire
Simrad Yachting – a division of Navico and leader in the design and manufacture of world-class marine navigation, autopilot, radar, communications and fishfinding systems – announced today the continued sponsorship of Gray FishTag Research (GFR). “We have been sponsoring GFR for many years and their work is vital to the health and sustainability of our oceans and fisheries.” GFR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, international, all species and fully interactive fish tagging program, powered by the world’s largest network of fishing professionals, consisting of approximately 10,000 charter boat captains and mates. The GFR program strives to be a fun and interactive program by introducing anglers to the world of fish tagging and tracking.

Boating:

Electric Boat Company Expands Capacity – The Fishing Wire
Ingenity Electric is increasing its capacity to build electric boats as part of parent company Correct Craft’s investment in 300,000 square feet of manufacturing space near its headquarters in Orlando. The new space will support growing demand for more sustainable boating solutions like the award-winning, 100% electric Nautique GS22E.

Ingenity President Sean Marrero stated, “The Nautique GS22E is incredible. It shows what’s possible with fully electric propulsion, but this is only the beginning.

U.S. Boat Sales Reached 13-Year High in 2020 – Fishing Wire
With heightened interest in outdoor recreation activities and ways to social distance, consumer demand for new boats surged across the U.S. in 2020. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), representing North American recreational boat, engine and marine accessory manufacturers, reports that retail unit sales of new powerboats increased last year by an estimated 12 percent compared to 2019. More than 310,000 new powerboats were sold in 2020. RV sales also reached their fourth highest level in 2020 with over 500,000 units sold in the U.S.

STEM:

The Coolest Teacher on Earth? – NPAA
Jean-Marc Perreault is not your average middle and high school science and technology teacher. For the past 27 years, the Canadian educator has consistently demonstrated that he will go to any length to make his courses more interesting and… In addition to teaching, Perreault is assistant scuba diving instructor and volunteer patroller for the Canadian Coast Guard. His passion for all things aquatic has led him to develop several unique learning opportunities for his students, the most recent of which involves the use of high-frequency sonar to locate and document previously undiscovered shipwrecks in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Events:

Save The River Annual Conference
Join Save the River online for their 32nd Annual Winter Environmental Conference. ON February 6th at 10: a.m. Eastern Lawrence Gunther will be presenting “Health and Current Status of the St. Lawrence River Fishery”.

February 2nd is World Wetlands Day
Watch Blue Fish Canada’s Twitter and Facebook accounts where we’ll be sharing more information about the crucial role of coastal wetlands in fish health.

Special Feature – Blue Fish Canada’s “Youth Sustainable Fishing Training Program”

Science and Local Knowledge: The Blue Fish Canada “Youth Sustainable Fishing Training Program” ensures youth and their mentors have access to the latest regionally specific science and knowledge to fish sustainably. Program guidance documents and training modules are developed in collaboration with leading fish biologists, expert anglers, and indigenous elders across Canada.

Program resources include:

• Fish species and size selection;
• Bait, technique and tackle choices;
• Disease and invasive species prevention;
• Fish handling and release health and welfare;
• Fish identification and biology;
• Sustainable harvesting and euthanization
• One health one welfare stewardship responsibilities and personal care; and,
• Safe fish consumption awareness.

Learn more and become a program delivery partner – together we can ensure the future of fish and fishing!

About us:

You can read current and back issues of Blue Fish Canada’s Newsletters by visiting: www.BlueFishCanada.ca

For more about Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only blind professional angler, conservationist, writer, blogger, podcaster, film maker and TV personality, visit: www.LawrenceGunther.com

Gunther founded the charity Blue Fish Canada in 2012 and launched the podcast Blue Fish Radio in 2013.

Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast so others will learn of this unique Canadian resource by visiting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blue-fish-radio-show/id1090189487?uo=4

Should you have a podcast suggestion or resource you would like to share, please send us a message to: Admin@BlueFishCanada.ca

Blue Fish Canada is a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity. Please consider making a small monthly donation to off-set the costs of this Newsletter and our other Blue Fish Canada programs by visiting: https://bluefishcanada.ca/donations/

In our first issue of the Blue Fish Canada News for 2021, we start with a feature about our relationship with nature and fishing, including a deep dive on angler participation in 2020 with Dr. Steven Cooke from Carleton University. As always, we include a specially curated list of links to timely news about fishing, fish, water and related news. We conclude with part 1 of a multi-part series highlighting the Blue fish Canada “Youth Sustainable Fishing Training Program”.

Special Feature on Health and Angler Participation During the Pandemic

Throughout 2020 Blue Fish Canada published 22 issues of the Blue Fish News that included special features and links to news from across Canada about fishing, fish, and water. Just as importantly, the News featured information about Covid-19 outdoor safety best practices curated from sources around the world and fact-checked as always by our science advisors and local knowledge experts. Blue Fish Canada will continue to ensure our readers have the knowledge to pursue outdoor adventures confidently and safely, and in ways that ensure both the sustainability of both our fisheries, and the environment as a whole.

If there is only one positive thing that came out of 2020, it’s that we deepened our understanding and strengthened our connection with Nature. More importantly, we gained greater awareness of just how much our health and that of nature is interdependent. It’s a connection with nature that means every action generates a reaction, that we need to be healthy to fully appreciate nature, and that we are dependent on nature for our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding public health mitigation strategies altered many facets of human life. And yet, little is known about how public health measures impacted recreational fisheries. Pandemic-related safety measures were introduced just as anglers were contemplating the re-opening of many recreational fishing seasons across Canada, leading to considerable speculation about the most appropriate path forward – to fish, or not to fish.

Canada’s Federal, Provincial and municipal governments all responded differently with closures, delays, barriers, or encouragement to get outdoors. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans was one of the only governments in Canada to issue a guidance document advising west coast anglers on how to stay safe. The rest of the world was just as uncertain, but there were several U.S. states that also encouraged their citizens to get outdoors and issued guidance documents of their own. The Blue Fish Canada News reported on these angling safety best practices, and in the May 17 edition of the Blue Fish News issued a comprehensive list of tips to anglers on how to stay safe.

It wasn’t long before governments across Canada fell into line and opened fishing and access to related assets such as boat launches and fishing tackle stores. By early summer it was clear that people were turning to fishing in numbers never before witnessed. Sales of live bait, fishing tackle and boats set new records. What we didn’t know was who were the people doing all this fishing, were they able to stay safe, what was the impact on Canada’s fisheries, and was the economic activity associated with all this fishing benefitting everyone traditionally involved in fishing equally, including guides, local bait and tackle stores, fishing lodges, indigenous communities, and all the other communities that depend on angler activity.

Below are links to two reports that explore the impacts and benefits of angler participation throughout 2020. The first was conducted by Dr. Steven Cooke and his team of researchers at Carleton University’s Cooke lab, and the second is a report out of the U.S. prepared by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. Both reports show that more people fished in 2020 then in any other year, based on available data, and that anglers themselves seemed to have done so without having caused the pandemic to spread, either among anglers, or the places where the fishing took place.

The study undertaken by Carleton University’s Cooke Lab went further and determined that all this fishing wasn’t being undertaken in response to food insecurity. In other words, people weren’t fishing necessarily to avoid going into grocery stores, or to feed their families because they lost their jobs. That’s not to say that there weren’t anglers who approached angling with this in mind, but the studies are clear that people were fishing because they had more time on their hands during shutdowns, they wanted to do something safe with their families where they could easily bubble outside the home, and that they found fishing to be a terrific way to maintain sound mental health. Other than ordering food and other products on-line, recreational fishing was also one of the handful of positive economic drivers during what was otherwise a troublesome year for small business.

Link here to listen to the Blue Fish Radio interview with Dr. Steven Cooke about the survey his team of researchers conducted involving close to 1,000 anglers in the province of Ontario: https://bluefishradio.com/angler-participation-in-2020-and-dr-steven-cooke/

More about the Cooke Lab survey on 2020 Impacts of “Covid-19 Restrictions and recreational fisheries in Ontario”, – Center for Open Science

Using a web-based online snowball survey, Carleton University’s Cooke Laboratory targeted resident anglers in Ontario to learn how the pandemic impacted recreational fishing and related activity. Angler perspectives on pandemic-related restrictions and fisheries management were also surveyed. Approximately 20% of the anglers who responded to the Cooke Lab survey self-identified as either beginners or as former anglers returning to the sport. Motivations to fish included free time, to maintain mental and physical health, and a desire to be more self-sufficient. Survey results underscored the value of recreational fishing for maintaining mental and physical well-being, and the overall socio-economic popularity and value of outdoor recreation during a pandemic.

And here’s a link to the RBFF Report, US Study Finds Fishing & Boating Rose to Historic Popularity in 2020 – Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation

Millions of Americans took up fishing or boating as new or returning participants during summer 2020. A 2020 research report issued by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation found that New anglers and boaters are younger, more urban and more diverse. They are also highly socially connected. Their reasons for getting started included canceled vacations and summer plans, more flexible schedules while working from home, and inspiration from family and friends.

The Latest Fishing, Fish and Water News

Fishing:

Socially distanced fishing helps life feel a little more normal – The Herald

Like many devoted anglers, I suffered withdrawal symptoms when regional waterways were declared off limits this past spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the new normal allows for fishing, a sport whose moral principals insist on effective social distancing. Managing a polite distance from others is well-ingrained behavior for fly fishers who swing a Purple Marabou for steelhead. Indeed, most of us fly fishers would prefer never to see another person on our favorite run.

Kokanee return in droves – Kelowna Daily Courier

If you thought you saw more kokanee salmon spawning in local creeks and along the shore of Okanagan Lake than usual this fall, you were right.

When is a trout a salmon and what difference does it make? – Daily Hampshire Gazette – Earth Matters

When I was fly fishing for pink salmon some years ago in the Pacific Northwest, I hooked an enormous steelhead, which is a sea-run rainbow trout. That steelhead was twice the size of the five-pound salmon I’d caught. All salmon migrate to saltwater and many trout do as well, although only steelhead and brown trout spend long periods in the sea. Even some strains of brook trout migrate for a few months to the ocean. Some species die after spawning (the five Pacific salmon) while others return to the sea (Atlantic salmon as well as brown and rainbow trout). So, there’s no real reason to differentiate trout from salmon.

The B.C. fish you’ve likely never heard of that’s confounding trawlers and officials – CBC News.

Bocaccio rockfish have made a huge comeback in B.C. since being deemed endangered in 2013, but the success story is being met with some trepidation. Bocaccio rockfish are found off the coast of British Columbia and often captured by fishermen targeting other groundfish species such as cod, sole or halibut.

New DFO regulations ensure tougher approach to rebuilding fish stocks – CBC News.

Canada is putting rebuilding depleted commercial fish stocks into law, starting with Atlantic cod off Newfoundland, spring spawning herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and three Pacific salmon stocks. DFO would have up to three years to come up with a rebuilding plan once a stock has reached what is known as the “lower reference point” — the point where a population is undergoing serious, ongoing harm.

The Old Man and the New Sea – Hakai Magazine (available in print and audio)

Three generations of the Hamada family have fished British Columbia’s coast. Will the latest generation outlive the salmon they seek?

Fish:

Pacific salmon 2021 outlook – Watershed Watch Salmon Society

Greg Taylor provides a summary of DFO’s preliminary outlook for 2021 Pacific salmon returns in B.C. — and he pulls no punches. The 2020 salmon season was the worst on record for many salmon stocks. In their summary, DFO states, ‘expectations for (2021) salmon returns are low and similar to 2020.’

Piscivory in recovering Lake Michigan cisco – Journal of Great Lakes Research

Contemporary conditions in Lake Michigan where cisco populations are expanding are vastly different from those encountered by the historic fish community. The top three prey items in the diet of Lake Michigan cisco now consists of non-native prey found in the Great Lakes, accounting for 87% of all observed prey mass consumed, such as round Goby, alewife, and B. longimanus.

Concern as Chinook salmon added to endangered species list in British Columbia – Angling International.

Fishery experts are concerned that Chinook salmon have been added to the endangered species list in British Columbia. Of 28 southern groups assessed in the state, only two have been identified as not at risk. Conservation groups and scientists are warning that hatchery fish will pass on inferior traits and that successive generations could be unfit for the wild.

Miramichi watershed Smallmouth eradication update – Atlantic Salmon Federation

Partners behind the effort to eradicate invasive smallmouth bass from the Miramichi watershed are awaiting a decision from the New Brunswick government that will determine if the project can proceed this year, or at all. This article offers a rundown of the major elements of the plan.

The rise of the land salmon – The Narwhal

Canada’s Narwhal online magazine recently published a 3-part series on the future of Atlantic salmon aquaculture, including an in-depth look at the growing trend to move salmon farming out of the ocean and on to land. Over 75 land-based salmon farms are now operational or being built around the world, including two in Canada, and the new operation near Miami Florida expected to meet over half of the demand in the U.S. – twice the number of salmon currently being farmed along Canada’s west coast.

BC’s Discovery Island Salmon farm sites to be removed over next 18 months – Atlantic Salmon Federation

In a major victory for the future of Pacific salmon, DFO has announced it will phase out some open net-pen salmon aquaculture sites off Vancouver Island.

Big Fish: The Aquacultural Revolution – Hakai Magazine (available in print and audio)

As the world’s population swells to 9.7 billion, industry and governments say aquaculture is the way to provide protein to the people—if that’s true, can we learn from the past and avoid screwing over the planet and each other?

Canada’s GMO salmon: frankenfish or food of the future? – The Narwhal

As the aquaculture industry tinkers with fish DNA to feed the world’s growing population more efficiently, critics say we’re moving too far, too fast without adequate transparency. Canadians with an appetite for salmon may have already consumed the world’s first genetically modified food animal without even knowing it.

Water:

Alberta to allow new coal strip mines that could kill four blue-ribbon trout rivers – Outdoor Canada.

Proposed new coal strip mines now threaten some of Alberta’s best trout streams—the Ram, Livingstone, Oldman and Crowsnest Rivers—with toxic waste. Angling and environmental groups have joined with ranchers, farmers and rural municipal governments to fight these proposals, but the outcome is far from certain.

NB Power files for removal of Milltown Dam on St. Croix River – Atlantic Salmon Federation

On December 21st the power utility submitted its Milltown Dam removal project to provincial regulators, kicking off a public and agency review process. The dam removal is a major piece of an international river restoration effort on the St. Croix which runs along the Maine-New Brunswick border.

Michigan/Illinois Invasive Carp Project Moves Forward – The Fishing Wire

The project to fight Asian carp invasion is made possible by funding from both states as well as the Federal Government. The governors of Illinois and Michigan today agreed to work jointly to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp species. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Chicago Area Waterway System near Joliet, Illinois, is a critical pinch point for keeping bighead, silver and black carp – the invasive Asian carp species of greatest concern – out of the Great Lakes. The Brandon Road project would install layered technologies including an electric barrier, underwater sound, an air bubble curtain and a flushing lock in a newly engineered channel designed to prevent invasive carp movement while allowing barge passage.

Migratory fish corridors planned in dismantling of Montreal’s old Champlain Bridge – CTV News.

Workers will soon complete the construction of migratory corridors for fish in the St. Lawrence River as dismantling work on the old Champlain Bridge between Montreal and the South Shore continues. The project will reduce the impact on fish in the river. The two migratory corridors should be operational for the fish migration and the spawning season, next spring. More than forty species frequent the area where the St. Lawrence River widens between the Lachine Rapids and the Victoria Bridge, including bass, lake sturgeon, walleye and black perch. These species are all likely to inhabit the area of the river where the construction work for the jetty and the dismantling of the old bridge are located.

The Great Lakes, North America’s greatest resource, faces many threats – National Geographic.

Almost 40 million Americans and Canadians live in the Great Lakes watershed. We drink from the lakes, fish on them, transport goods over them, farm their shores, and work in cities that wouldn’t exist without the lakes. And of course, we pollute them. We’ve introduced invasive species that have permanently altered the lakes. The fertilizers we use to grow the corn we feed to the animals we eat and to make the biofuels we pump into our vehicles have contributed to the resurgence of algal blooms so large they can be seen from space. And with our ongoing emission of greenhouse gases, we’ve even managed to reengineer the weather over vast stretches of the Great Lakes watershed, increasing the frequency of severe storms.

Indigenous:

Indigenous Systems of Management for Culturally and Ecologically Resilient Pacific Salmon – Oxford University Press

Traditional technologies, harvesting practices and management systems could bring endangered populations back from the brink. More than 20 co-authors, including scientists and community leaders, conclude that revitalizing Indigenous fishing management systems and technologies — such as dip nets, fish traps and weirs — could support the sustainable harvest of salmon and strengthen Indigenous governance, unlike contemporary management systems, which have contributed to declining populations.

Industry:

Buzz Ramsey calls it a day after fifty years – Angling International.

One of the fishing tackle industry’s best-known figures has retired after five decades and three leading brands. Buzz Ramsey, 70, left his job as Brand Manager with Yakima Bait on New Year’s Day. Ramsey is an accomplished lure designer and had considerable influence on baits including Luhr Jensen’s KwikFish and Yakima Bait’s Mag Lip and FlatFish. The 30lb 5oz steelhead he caught in the Thompson River, British Columbia, was a world record at the time. In retirement, Buzz plans to continue working to find a solution for removing the four Snake River dams and recovering the fishery’s salmon stock.

Bass Pro outlines its plans for Sportsman’s Warehouse – Angling International.

The Great American Outdoors Group, parent company of Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and White River Marine, added the 112-store chain to its portfolio in a deal valued at around $800 million.

Boating:

Closure of new funding round totaling $37.5m for New Electric Outboard – Angling International.

Seattle’s Pure Watercraft first product is an electric outboard motor system with the propulsion equivalent of up to 50HP gas outboards. Its long-life lithium-ion battery has the most energy for weight of any battery pack in marine – about the same as that of a Tesla Model 3. “The quiet power offers a big advantage to catch more fish,” says TV host and pro bass angler, Troy Lindner.

Boat Licensing Changes proposed by Transport Canada – OFAH.

Do you use a boat with an outboard motor (10 horsepower or greater) that requires a Pleasure Craft Licence (PCL)? Or are you planning on applying for a Pleasure Craft Operator Card? If so, Transport Canada is proposing changes that will impact you.

NMMA Reports U.S. Boat Sales Reached 13-Year High in 2020 – Fishing Wire.

The NMMA reported today that retail unit sales of new powerboats in the U.S. increased last year by an estimated 12 percent compared to 2019. More than 310,000 new powerboats were sold in 2020. Sales of personal watercraft, including Jet Ski, Sea Doo and WaveRunner are up 8%, wake boat sales are up 20%, and sales of freshwater fishing boats and pontoons boats, which accounted for 50 percent of new powerboats sold in 2020, are up 12%.

Special Focus on the Blue Fish Canada “Youth Sustainable Fishing Training Program” – Part 1

Throughout 2021 Blue Fish Canada will continue to provide biweekly news with a focus on what we need to know and do to ensure we can strengthen and maintain our respective and collective one health relationships with nature now and into the future. This includes up-dates on actions underway to mitigate climate change, and measures being taken to improve both human and nature’s resilience to the impacts already being felt because of these changes. In addition to presenting in depth specials and links to relevant news, we will be including calls to action, both collectively and individually.

Now more than ever the future of our fisheries and nature depends on us doing things smarter. Traditions are important, but given the level of pollution, climate change, development, and advancements in innovations, it’s up to all of us to adopt science-based best practices in ways that make sense using our tremendous local knowledge. Learn more about the Blue Fish Canada “Youth Sustainable Fishing Training Program” to make sure the next generation of recreational anglers and their mentors have the tools needed to carry on the ancient practice of fishing confidently knowing that they are using the best available knowledge.

About us:

You can read current and back issues of Blue Fish Canada’s Newsletters by visiting: www.BlueFishCanada.ca

For more about Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only blind professional angler, conservationist, writer, blogger, podcaster, film maker and TV personality, visit: www.LawrenceGunther.com

Gunther founded the charity Blue Fish Canada in 2012 and launched the podcast Blue Fish Radio in 2013.

Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast so others will learn of this unique Canadian resource by visiting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blue-fish-radio-show/id1090189487?uo=4

Should you have a podcast suggestion or resource you would like to share, please send us a message to: Admin@BlueFishCanada.ca

Blue Fish Canada is a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity. Please consider making a small monthly donation to off-set the costs of this Newsletter and our other Blue Fish Canada programs by visiting: https://bluefishcanada.ca/donations/

In this final issue of the Blue Fish Canada News for 2020, we begin with an editorial by editor Lawrence Gunther “Local Knowledge Stakeholder Engagement” that explores whether the genie should be put back into the bottle post-pandemic. As always, we include a specially curated list of Links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news, and close with a special resource selected to inform and inspire our readers to ice fish sustainably. 

This Week’s Feature

“Local Knowledge Stakeholder Engagement” – by Editor Lawrence Gunther

No doubt, 2020 was problematic for most of us at best, and far worse for many others. And while some may lament society’s pivot to webinars and video conferencing, the one bright spot is the increased participation levels and transparency that resulted.

Blue Fish Canada volunteers participated in more meetings in 2020, that prior to the pandemic, were never options due to costs and their associated carbon footprints. Our increased participation and that of many others, by this virtual throwing open of the doors, has set in motion broader collaboration and an openness to new ideas.

For years Blue fish Canada has been advocating for both greater stakeholder participation by recreational anglers and indigenous fishers, and increased consideration of fish health issues by those concerned with water quality. I’m pleased to report that we have made progress in getting fish and fishing included, if not on actual agendas in every case, as topics to be considered and discussed. Within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence watersheds alone, the number of meetings we participated in set a new record.

Even though funding to organizations with official status flows primarily to scientific research, the introduction of local knowledge held by indigenous fishers and recreational anglers has helped to strengthen the framework upon which research findings are mapped and connected in ways that mirror this knowledge. Whether it’s the science that’s culminating in a more holistic and coherent story that people can then apply, or if it’s the local knowledge that’s identifying the gaps in scientific research that need filling, the point is that the dots are starting to be connected.

It’s now becoming abundantly clear just how important it is for researchers to collaborate with people and groups with local knowledge. The next step is figuring out ways to ensure the funding is there and applied equitably so we don’t revert to prior more insular processes that are, admittedly, a lot more predictable. Ensuring funding to groups that truly represent stakeholders with local knowledge is also imperative if we are to curb the dependents such groups now have on financing that comes with strings attached.

In my recent Blue Fish Radio interview with the co-founder of the environmental organization “Swim Drink Fish Canada”, Kyrstyn Tully speaks about how pre-loaded funding is shaping the directions taken by environmental and conservation groups who depend on grants to cover their operational and project budgets. Tully underscores the need for more stable funding so local knowledge organizations can stay true to the voices of their constituency. Even the funding needed to attend in-person meetings alone is often a hardship. You can listen to The Blue Fish Radio Show interview with Kyrstyn Tully using the following link: https://bluefishradio.com/krystyn-tully-on-the-future-of-environmentalism/

Having conducted over 300 long-form interviews with leading scientists and local knowledge experts from across Canada for “The Blue Fish Radio Show”, hundreds more with people who live by and from the water for my documentaries “What Lies Below” and “Lake2Plate”, and by simply spending time on boats fishing with amazing people, I can report that the sense of disconnection and frustration I’m hearing from people who directly experience the consequences of actions or inactions brought about by decision makers is growing. Whether indigenous fishers or recreational anglers, most now know where the science is being conducted and the decisions are being taken or not that impact their beloved fish and the fisheries that make up a big part of who they are.

For such decision-making bodies to move forward with a broader collaborative agenda, it’s no longer enough to simply include fish without also including the people who catch fish for cultural, social, subsistence, recreational, and entrepreneurial reasons. In short, we can not continue to study water without recognizing the direct relationships between water, fish, and the dependent people. Scientists need access to the knowledge these people possess, and fishers and anglers need answers and sound decisions that build on these answers, even if it involves strong medicine. It can only happen if the people responsible for taking decisions recognize the value of both, and back up this recognition with the funding and opportunities that make the science and participation by local knowledge stakeholders possible.

Let’s hope the rush to return to pre-pandemic practices in 2021 doesn’t bring an end to the inclusion and transparency many have now experienced at levels that far exceed what was once the norm. And hopefully, given the growing awareness among decision makers that science works best when combined with local knowledge, it will also mean greater financial consideration when allocating funding. To start, every scientific report should include a detailed section of how local knowledge was incorporated, the level of involvement of local experts in the actual research, and a budget line that clearly demonstrates the value of such collaborations. And then who knows, maybe directly funding local knowledge stakeholder groups to do more than plant shoreline greenery or scoop garbage. To give such organizations the breathing room to gather, sort and make available local knowledge in ways beyond providing opening and closing remarks at meetings.

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Ten Ice Fishing Safety Tips by Canada’s own fishing legend Bob Izumi – Northern Ontario Travel
Proper preparation is one of the keys to ensuring a safe day on the hard water.

Fly Fishing’s Unlikely Following – Fishing Wire
Who would have guessed that old-fashioned fly fishing would captivate a whole new generation? But it’s true: the Zen-like practice is attracting millennials by the boatload.

How To Perform A Self Rescue if you Go Through the Ice – YouTube

Angling lost a legendary angler, educator, and industry icon with the passing of Ron Lindner – Angling Edge
Ron and his brother Al brought a scientific approach to angling that helped them evolve into elite tournament fisherman. The pair developed the Lindy Tackle Company and invented the Lindy Rig used by millions of walleye anglers. They went on to create a fishing media empire that began with the In-Fisherman magazine and expanded into radio, television, books and more. Then on to Lindner Media Productions which spawned Lindner’s Angling Edge and an outcropping of subsidiaries. Ron was inducted into many Sportsman and Fishing Hall of Fames. Rest in peace, Ron. Your accolades are many and varied, and changed the world through your life of service to the cause.

Minnesota’s NW Angle Businesses Unite to Save Ice Fishing Season – Fishing Wire
There is a part of the United States that as a result of the U.S. / Canada border closure, has been cut off from U.S. residents. In order to travel there, one has to drive through Canada about 40 miles before entering back into the U.S. Facing another season of virtually no revenue, the community has pulled together and come up with a solution, the NW Angle Guest Ice Road.

Fishing code of conduct being finalized for Haida Gwaii – Smithers Interior News
The recreational fishing code for fishing on Haida Gwaii is being developed by a trilateral group consisting of the Council of the Haida Nation, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Included in the code: take only what you need, avoid unnecessary harm to untargeted species, refrain from targeting the largest fish, and ending catch-and-release practices.

Fish Health:

Discovery Islands salmon farms to be phased out of existence over next 18 months – CBC News
The controversial open-net salmon farms in the Discovery Islands near Campbell River, B.C., will be phased out over the next 18 months. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said all 19 farms have to be free of fish by June 30, 2022, when their renewed 18-month licenses expire.

Permanent fishway to be built at Fraser River landslide – Kamloops This Week
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has awarded a contract that would see a permanent fishway built to help fish migrate past the massive Big Bar landslide on the Fraser River. The federal government has awarded Burnaby-based Peter Kiewit Sons a contract worth $176.3 million to design and build a fishway that’s expected to be operational by the start of the 2022 Fraser River salmon migration

Large-scale fish hatcheries hurting Chinook salmon populations – CTV News
New report says four Chinook populations are moving towards extinction and one of the threats to the population is large-scale fish hatcheries. “They are really struggling,” said John Reynolds, professor of ecology at Simon Fraser University and the chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered

Tofino Hatchery sets sights on restoring Chum salmon stocks – Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
The hatchery recently launched a new project designed to boost Chum populations by collecting roughly 45,000 chum eggs.

Tire Treads Washing into Rivers Discovered to be Killing California’s Coho Salmon – SFChronicle.com 
Scientists in the Pacific Northwest say they’ve solved a long-running mystery behind the region’s dying salmon, a discovery that may explain what’s harming fish elsewhere around the globe. In recently published research, a team of university and government scientists identify a toxic material derived from tire treads that is washing into rivers and creeks as the killer of as many as 90% of the coho salmon in parts of the Puget Sound. The finding is a welcome breakthrough for Washington state after decades of losing the revered fish without a full explanation. However, it also points to a bigger problem, one that’s both difficult to solve and not limited to a single part of the country, and possibly rampant in urban areas everywhere.

Alexandra Morton: The trilogy of DFO decisions in 2020—is this the end of wild Fraser River salmon? – Georgia Straight
The North Atlantic cod collapsed because the DFO ignored critical warnings from its own scientists.

Scientists call for Fraser River Estuary Act – Business in Vancouver
More than 100 species in the Fraser River estuary could go extinct over the next 25 years, according to a new study led by University of BC scientists. About 15: of the threatened species are fish, essential to most of the rest.

Feds give more than $6M to assist species-at-risk projects in Nova Scotia – CBC News
The Nova Scotia Salmon Association will receive $3.8 million to be used in two projects, while the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq will receive up to $2.3 million. The bulk of the funds will go toward conservation planning for eight priority watersheds in several locations in mainland Nova Scotia. Work on the project started last year and will continue through to 2023.

New East Coast White Shark Research Consortium Formed – Fishing Wire
Shark research groups and government agencies from the northeastern US and Canada announced the establishment of the New England White Shark Research Consortium. With growing sightings of white sharks from Rhode Island to Canada, this is the perfect time to create a unique consortium to increase our understanding of white shark life history, including their migration, residency, habitat use, reproduction, and predatory behavior, factors that drive human-white shark interactions, and broader perceptions of white sharks by coastal communities.

Nearly 200,000 people come together in efforts to save BC wilderness – My Prince George Now
A new ‘Fish, Wildlife and Habitat’ coalition forms in B.C and has 188,000 members. The coalition is comprised of 750 businesses and 54,000 supporters from different backgrounds, lifestyles and political beliefs. The group is demanding fish, wildlife and habitat no longer take a ‘back seat’ in B.C. In 1954, BC spent approximately .63% of the provincial budget on fish and wildlife, by 2017, that number declined to .06%.

Whales to trout: Ottawa announces $50M for research into fisheries ecosystems – Kamloops This Week
The federal government is announcing more than $50 million for research into marine and freshwater ecosystems across Canada. The projects range from improving habitat for Atlantic salmon to measuring the effects of shipping on whales off the British Columbia coast to studying trout-bearing waters in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains where new coal mines and expansion of others are being considered.

Canada joins 13 nations in 100% sustainable ocean management pledge – Globalnews.ca
Canada, with over five million square kilometres of ocean area, is one of the countries to put forward a new ocean action agenda on Wednesday. Boris Worm, a professor of marine ecology at Dalhousie University, was the scientific advisor to the Canadian government and reviewer of papers written for the newly proposed oceans agenda. Worm says the world’s oceans are at a critical turning point, as some estimate a decline of 50 per cent in marine resources. “In Canada, only one-quarter of fish stocks is considered reliably healthy,” Worm says. “There’s a road to recovery we need to engage in, and we’re willing to engage, and that’s what this panel is all about — to make sure it actually happens.”

Water Quality:

Yukon wetlands at tipping point from placer mining – The Narwhal
The Yukon Water Board is asking the public to weigh in as the territory considers legislation to protect remaining undisturbed wetlands from small-scale gold mining in streams and riverbeds.

Ottawa’s Downtown tunnel finally ready to keep sewage out of Ottawa river –  CBC 
The $232-million “engineering marvel,” which began construction in 2016, is now ready to store water when the next big storm hits Ottawa. The pair of tunnels measure 6.2 kilometres in total, and include 15 underground chambers capable of holding up to 18 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of sewage.

13 projects protecting B.C. aquatic species at risk receive $11 million in federal funding – Cowichan Valley Citizen
Watershed Watch Salmon Society’s executive director, Aaron Hill, applauded the investments, with a note of caution. “Much more is needed, including much stronger efforts to ensure our lands and waters don’t get trashed to begin with.”

It’s official: Alberta’s oilsands tailings ponds are leaking – The Narwhal
There are more than a trillion litres of toxic oilsands waste stored in tailings ponds near Alberta’s Athabasca River. A years-long international investigation has found ‘scientifically valid evidence’ the massive pits that store toxic waste in the oilsands are leaking, leaving Albertans wondering who’s going to clean them up

The watershed watchers: in conversation with the International Joint Commission – The Narwhal
Canada and the U.S. are bound together by waterways that transcend political borders. But what happens when industrial development changes those waters in ways that could last hundreds of years? Selenium pollution in the Elk Valley watershed, which is linked to fish and bird deformities and the collapse of treasured trout populations, is on the rise. And because the Elk Valley watershed drains into the Koocanusa reservoir, which crosses the B.C.-Montana border, the province’s selenium problem is now raising the ire of our neighbours to the south.

Government blocks proposed mine that threatened Alaska salmon fishery – The Guardian
Denial of permit to controversial Pebble gold and copper mine delights environmental and indigenous rights activists, and brings an end to the dreams of Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. The mine and it’s proposed open-pit excavation would have created a pit deeper than the Grand Canyon, threatening the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery located in south-west Alaska.

The last undammed river of Manitoba – The Narwhal
The Seal River is Manitoba’s only major waterway that hasn’t been dammed — and five Indigenous communities have banded together to keep it that way by establishing a protected area.

Lake Partner Program News – FOCA
The Federation of Ontario Cottage Associations has entered into a new 5 year agreement in support of the Lake Partner Program carrying on their longstanding partnership between dedicated waterfront volunteers and the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Their important work together supports the shared commitment to the long term monitoring of our precious freshwater lakes.

Indigenous:

New Legacy art gallery exhibit aims to revitalize traditional W̱SÁNEĆ fishing practices – Martlet 
UVic’s Legacy Art Gallery has a new exhibit: “To Fish as Formerly,” is a powerful, educational exploration of the traditional fishing practices of the W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) and Salish peoples.

Algonquin Land Claim Update – FOCA
Ontario recently undertook another phase of consultations regarding provincial land matters related to the Algonquins of Ontario treaty negotiations, expected to be completed in 2023.

Canada’s first Indigenous coast guard program is already saving lives – The Narwhal
In mid-November, a storm pounded B.C.’s central coast, 120-kilometre-per-hour winds whipping the waves into a frenzy. The newly operational Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary dispatch centre in Bella Bella started receiving a flurry of calls for help from several vessels in distress. “We had one vessel towing another vessel and he had to cut his tow loose. And we were told there was a person in the water,”. “We live on the coast, we live on the water and we will respond to any call for help,” said Johnson, who’s been a responder for more than a decade. Roger Girouard assistant commissioner for the Canadian Coast Guard says “the first step  was building relationships with the First Nations along the coast”.

Climate Change:

Increasing Ocean Surface Temperatures along West Coast – NOAA
Record marine heatwaves continue to build reservoirs of toxic algae Off the  West Coast and continue the spread of harmful algae forcing the closure of valuable Dungeness crab and other shellfish seasons every year since 2015.

2020 Was a Record Year for Hurricanes – Sierra Club
The most active Atlantic hurricane season on record began two weeks ahead of schedule and ended on November 30, 2020. This season surpasses the previous record holder set in 2005, and marks the second time in recorded history when meteorologists ran out of names and had to resort to the Greek alphabet.

IJC invites public feedback on high water impacts
The International Joint Commission’s (IJC) Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee and partners are gathering input from property owners who have been directly affected by high water levels on the Great Lakes or along the St. Lawrence River shoreline over 2019 or 2020. Impacted property owners can participate in a voluntary online questionnaire, and are able to upload photos.

Sluggish start for Arctic sea ice freeze-up – EarthSky Voices
After the spring and summer melt season, the cap of frozen seawater floating on top of the Arctic Ocean begins to refreeze. In 2020, the annual freeze has been slow, When Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum in September 2020, it was the 2nd-lowest in the satellite record, and the sea ice extent for this October was the lowest on record for any October.

How climate change is making winter ice more dangerous – StarTribune.com
Sapna Sharma, an associate professor of biology at York University in Toronto and a lead author of the study, said people don’t realize how global warming is increasing the risks that come with winter traditions like skating, ice fishing and snowmobiling. Northern Canada and Alaska have higher rates of drowning, even in very cold temperatures. “It may not be as safe now as it was 30 years or 40 years ago.”

Boating:

Boat Manufacturing Momentum Slows in September – Fishing Wire
The NMMA reports new boat manufacturing activity in September pulled back for the second consecutive month following a summer of elevated growth, according to its latest Monthly Shipment Report (MSR).

Torqeedo Deep Blue Electric Power Boat that “Flies” – Fishing Wire
Propelled by the Torqeedo Deep Blue 50i, the Candela Seven is 7.is a 7 meter long boat with a top speed of 55 km/h and a range of 92 km when driven at 37 km/h.

Registering your Boat – Transport Canada

Canadian Marine Advisory Council continues to consider changes to the Pleasure Craft License (PCL), to better identify boat owners for emergency purposes, and to track abandoned vessels. Currently, PCL are valid for 10 years but TC is considering a shorter (e.g., 5 year) renewal period.

Special on Ice Fishing – Blue Fish Canada

Ice fishing is one of the fastest growing recreational fishing segments in Canada. If the growth in fishing witnessed throughout 2020 continues, the 2021 ice fishing season promises to be even more popular. Quality how-to articles on equipment, tackle, techniques and safety are prolific, but here’s something you don’t often hear about – tips on how to ice fish sustainably. Blue Fish Canada relies on top Canadian fish biologists and experts with local knowledge to fact-check all our Blue Fish Sustainable Fishing Tips.

1. USE ROD AND LINE SIZED APPROPRIATE FOR EACH FISH SPECIES Using the right strength rod and line for each fish species ensures fish are captured without causing undue fatigue. Properly matched hook strength and size increases your hook-to-landing ratio and helps ensure fish go back healthy. The use of leaders when targeting toothy fish prevents their breaking off with your tackle in tow.
2. KEEP HOOK CUTTERS AND REMOVER HANDY Needle-nose plyers and hook removers make hook removal efficient and safe by keeping hands away from the mouths of toothy fish and hook points. When hooks are difficult to remove, hook cutters can quickly and safely separate fish from lures.
3. AVOID REMOVAL OF FISH-PROTECTING SLIME Bacteria found in fish slime serve as a protective coating. Make sure your hands are wet and hold fish away from clothing. Do not put fish you intend to return on dry ice or snow to avoid removing slime.
4. SUPPORT THE BELLIES OF LARGE FISH USING YOUR HANDS Fish are anatomically designed to move through water with minimal resistance and live in a constant state of neutral buoyancy. They do not possess the stomach muscles required to support internal organs when out of the water and subjected to gravity.
5. MINIMIZE THE TIME FISH SPEND OUT OF WATER Avoid subjecting fish to extreme cold or wind that can cause frostbite or damage to their eyes. Remove fish-hooks quickly and minimize the amount of time a fish will spend out of the water.
6. HARVEST FISH LOWER ON THE FOOD CHAIN Alpha predator fish are similar to lions; they claim territory and live solitary lives. By targeting fish considered by apex predators as prey, you are harvesting fish that grow quicker and in greater numbers.
7. HARVEST FROM PUT-AND-TAKE FISHERIES AND SUPPORT FISH STOCK REBUILDING EFFORTS Some ecosystems are routinely planted to ensure adequate supplies of adult fish for harvest. Other ecosystems may have experienced a significant decline, and efforts are underway to rebuild their stocks to self-sustaining levels. Put-and-take fisheries are intended for harvesting individual limits. Fish stocks at below sustainable levels should be treated as catch-and-release only.
8. HARVEST FISH SPECIES IN PLENTIFUL SUPPLY Each unique ecosystem experiences yearly fluctuations in fish species abundance. Local anglers generally know which bodies of water are supporting an abundance of fish, and which fish species are at low numbers. Set harvesting goals by consulting local anglers familiar with the water you intend to fish.
9. LIMIT HARVESTS TO ONE MEAL OF FRESH FISH Just because you can doesn’t mean you should fill your daily fish harvesting limit each time you go fishing. Many regulations include maximum numbers of fish you possess including what’s in your freezer. Frozen fish lose up to 30% of their flavor and can suffer freezer burn after six months. Fresh is always best!
10. EXERCISE RESTRAINT WHEN HARVESTING FISH NEAR URBAN CENTRES Fishing locations situated near-by highly popular ice fishing locations experience higher fishing pressure than do more remote less-frequented locations. Not all fish harvesting regulations consider proximity to urban populations. Limit your harvest or practice catch and-release when fishing popular waters.

About us:

You can read current and back issues of Blue Fish Canada’s Newsletters by visiting: www.BlueFishCanada.ca

For more about Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only blind professional angler, conservationist, writer, blogger, podcaster, film maker and TV personality, visit: www.LawrenceGunther.com

Gunther founded the charity Blue Fish Canada in 2012 and launched the podcast Blue Fish Radio in 2013.

Please rate The Blue fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast so others will learn of this unique Canadian resource by visiting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blue-fish-radio-show/id1090189487?uo=4

Should you have a podcast suggestion or resource you would like to share, please send us a message to: Admin@BlueFishCanada.ca<

Blue Fish Canada is a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity. Please consider making a small monthly donation to off-set the costs of this Newsletter and our other Blue Fish Canada programs by visiting: https://bluefishcanada.ca/donations/

While 2020 may have started off to be one of the charity’s most productive to date, the pandemic caused us to take a pause. Not because our programs were forced to shut, (this was only the case in a very few instances), but because we felt our beneficiaries had other more urgent issues at the time. Thankfully, the pause did not last long.

The Pivot: By early April our expert scientific advisors, citizen scientists, and local knowledge experts were advising us that more than ever people needed to get outdoors. In response, Blue Fish Canada began releasing weekly newsletters with information about the state of recreational fisheries across Canada, the United States, and around the world. More importantly, we sought out and developed angling and boating safety protocols to inform those contemplating a return to the outdoors. While careful not to encourage people to disregard stay-at-home orders, we also wanted to support people to begin thinking, planning, and dreaming about being in nature.

Angling Participation: We are pleased to have done our part to make 2020 a year that saw the highest levels of angling participation ever in Canada’s history. Just as importantly, we are proud of the angling community that pursued their outdoor lifestyles in ways that are respectful, safe, and healthy for both body and mind but, we didn’t stop there.

On-line Program Delivery: We continued to produce audio and video content to educate anglers who were turning to the internet in numbers never before seen. Our informative programming materials reached new and old anglers alike at rates that far exceeded our 2020 program delivery goals.

Video / Audio Content: so far in 2020 we have produced/released:

• 29 hours of audio podcast con tent;
• 325 minutes of TV content;
• 179 minutes of online video; and,
• 18.5 hours of live Facebook streaming video.

Print Format: people can’t seem to get enough reading material that has to do with fishing sustainably. Compelling Blue Fish Stewardship program material outputs include:

• 21 issues of the Blue Fish News;
• 78 Tweets from @BlueFishNews;
• 94 Facebook posts from Blue Fish Canada
• 78 blog posts over our four websites (www.BlueFishCanada.ca, www.Lake2Plate.com, www.BlueFishRadio.com, and www.BlindFishingBoat.com).

Fish Health: our research, citizen science and advocacy activities included:

• 3 outdoor show exhibits;
• 11 in-person and live-streamed presentations;
• 27 on-line video conferences specific to water quality and fish health;
• 2 on-line fish facts surveys; and,
• Launching and chairing the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Fish Health Network.

Diversity and Inclusion: fishing is an activity of universal appeal. More than that, it’s essential to the healthy development of youth of all backgrounds and abilities. Blue Fish Canada continues to work closely with indigenous, women, disability and multicultural groups and youth to make sure accessibility to recreational fishing is the norm across Canada. Programs such as Girl Guide Fishing, Blind Fishing boat, Earth Rangers, Outdoors with Lawrence Gunther, Scouts Canada, and Urban Family Fishing remain high priorities.

Outreach Partners: active partnerships include:

What we learned: using a combination of online tools, print resources, and traditional storytelling is highly effective at engaging the next generation of recreational anglers, indigenous fishers, and their mentors and elders., These strategies achieve results. Even though our direct interface programs such as outdoor show experiences, Fishing Tackle Recyclers, urban shore fishing access, and kids fishing days, had to be scaled back in 2020 for safety reasons, our other engagement programs, delivered through strategic partnerships, far out performed our 2020 expectations.

Contact: Please continue to contact us with your suggestions or with any concerns. If you are looking for new volunteer challenges, we have opportunities. Otherwise, keep doing what you do to stay healthy, including getting out to fish as your wellbeing and that of the welfare of Canada’s watersheds and fish populations ar linked.

Donate: Blue Fish Canada is a registered Canadian charity and is 100% reliant on volunteers. There are programming related costs that depend on external funding. Please consider Blue Fish Canada in your donations for Giving Tuesday. You will also soon receive a short explanation of our program priorities for 2021.

Yours Sincerely,
Lawrence Gunther Euteneier M.E.S. M.S.M.
President: Blue Fish Canada
Email: Director@BlueFishCanada.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlueFishCanada/
Twitter: @BlueFishnews
Web: BlueFishCanada.ca

In this November 26, 2020 issue of the Blue Fish Canada News we begin with a Feature-focus on the great lakes’ $8-billion annual recreational fishery in transition, including the latest analysis, research and local knowledge. As always, the news includes a curated list of links to timely fishing, fish health, water quality and other news, and we end with a bonus resource selected to inform and inspire the hardiest of our readers.

This Week’s Feature:

The November Blue Fish News follows up on our October News feature and Blue Fish Radio interview with International Joint Commission (IJC) scientist Dr. Joe DePinto and the IJC report documenting the changing off-shore Great Lakes ecosystems and the impacts on the $8-billion annual recreational fisheries. Our investigation continues with an in-depth interview with a Great Lakes Fisheries Commission scientist. Dr. John Dettmers who recently released a paper “Whether to Manage for Economics or the Ecosystem?” Dr. Dettmers suggests the Great Lakes recreational fisheries of the 1980s and 1990s are now in transition due to veracious non-native pacific salmon and rainbow trout being in decline along with their preferred non-native prey fish (alewife and smelt). Dr. Dettmers points out the importance of maintaining and rebuilding native Great Lakes fish and prey fish species that once thrived in the pristine pre-industrial Great Lakes. Link below to hear my conversation with Dr. Dettmers on “The Blue Fish Radio Show” podcast: https://bluefishradio.com/great-lake-ecosystem-changes-and-recreational-fisheries/

We reached out to the U.S. Great Lakes Science Centre (GLSC) and received the below confirmation that the Great Lakes are indeed in transition. Dr. David Bunnell, a research fisheries biologist with the GLSC, reports that, “Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Ontario have undergone declines in productivity (e.g., nutrients, algae, zooplankton) over the past several decades which limits the overall biomass of prey fish that can be supported. At the same time, prey fish biomass is also influenced by levels of predator stocking. Determining the relative importance of resource limitation and predation remains an important research topic for fisheries scientists in these lakes. Similarly, discerning which species are best suited to thrive in these less productive systems is complicated and no consensus has been reached among the scientists.” Dr. Bunnell goes on to say that both Alewife and Rainbow smelt abundance is declining across most of the Great Lakes basin, and that cisco, once a key constituents of all five Great Lakes, “remain widespread and abundant only in Lake Superior, and have small but perhaps growing populations in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario”. Dr. Bunnell warns that, “even in Lake Superior, cisco abundance has declined since the 1990s, and the factors underlying its uneven annual production of offspring remains a research priority”.

Understanding the causes behind these seismic shifts in the Great Lakes has elicited calls from the International Joint Commission for a more holistic approach to researching Great Lake issues. In the recent IJC report “A Stressful Interaction: Some Ecosystem Stressors Have Greater Influence When Combined”, the IJC Science Advisory Board underscores the need to broaden the scope of their research to encompass a wider variety of issues impacting the Great Lake ecosystems, and to gain greater understanding of the impacts that result from the synergy of two or more of these issues. The IJC report concludes, “We need to recognize that managing environmental stressors in independent ‘silos’ may not always be the best approach. We’re more likely to succeed when we focus on the big picture and manage problems as they interact with each other. We’re moving in that direction but managing for multiple stressors in a holistic manner needs to be more widely practiced.”

The good news is Canada recently invested $5.1 million in Great Lakes protection. The federal funding will go towards supporting 46 new projects to protect and restore the Great Lakes. The “Great Lakes Protection Initiative” supports projects that address key Great Lakes priorities such as restoring areas of concern, preventing toxic and nuisance algae, reducing releases of harmful chemicals, engaging Indigenous Peoples on Great Lakes issues, and increasing public engagement through citizen science. All necessary priorities for sure, and Blue Fish Canada will be there to make sure citizen science public engagement includes the voice of recreational anglers.

The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Water Quality News

Fishing:

Ranger Boats pro angler Jason Przekurat wins the National Walleye Tour — National Professional Anglers Association
The National Professional Angler Association presented the Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Championship event on Lake Erie, October 16. The win marks the first-time a pro angler (Jason Przekurat) has won the NWT championship twice.

This Ontario angler thought he had a big bass. He was off by about 200 pounds — Outdoor Canada
Coel Forsyth and his girlfriend, Emily Enns, were fishing for largemouth bass on Lake of the Woods when he flipped a Senko into a patch of reeds in roughly three feet of water. The 23-year-old fishing guide from Kenora, Ontario, reeled in the incidental catch of a lifetime: a 200-pound lake sturgeon.

Bass Tournament Organizer Fined $9,000 — Ontario Newsroom
On July 15, 2019, conservation officers responded to several tips about a bass fishing tournament that had been held on the St. Lawrence River near Gananoque. An investigation discovered 195 dead bass, including 188 dead bass in plastic bags found in the garbage. The tournament organizer was fined $9,000 and had his recreational fishing license suspended for five years.

FishDonkey partners with the National Professional Anglers Association — National Professional Anglers Association
The National Professional Anglers Association understands that the future of the industry relies on conserving our resources, and one piece of that puzzle is making catch and release tournaments the way of the future. FishDonkey is a mobile app that gives you the tools to create, manage, and join fishing tournaments. Each catch is documented through the app with anti-cheating technology applied to photos and a release video, and then fish are immediately released back into the water. Photos and standings are updated in real time throughout the day on live leaderboards. The app reinforces fishing conservation by reducing delayed mortality rate of tournament fish and legitimizing catch and release.

Glenn Hughes: why 2020 is the year of the angler — Angling International
Each industry sector plays a role in the process, but none of us can do everything. The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation’s (RBFF) TakeMeFishing.org website and Get On Board campaign are information portals to help new and returning anglers and boaters create a great day on and around the water and, just as importantly, come back again. The RBFF’s job is to do the heavy lifting when it comes to fishing and boating awareness and getting people excited to take the journey to becoming a life-long angler.

N.S. Moves Rec Fish Meetings Online — Atlantic Salmon Federation
Nova Scotia’s Inland Fisheries team, which holds annual advisory meetings with anglers around the province, is going online this year. Topics will include an overview of the 2020 sportfishing season, review of proposed regulatory changes, project updates, and a description of some new initiatives meant to grow the recreational fishery.

Fish Health:

Unique B.C. trout population suffers 93 per cent crash downstream of Teck’s Elk Valley coal mines — The Narwhal
Environment Canada was told that selenium pollution emanating from a string of coal mines in B.C.’s southeast corner could lead to reproductive failure and ‘a total population collapse’ of sensitive species like the westslope cutthroat trout. The adult population of genetically unique westslope cutthroat trout in the Kootenay region dropped by 93 per cent this past fall compared with 2017 levels, according to a monitoring report from Teck Resources.

Aluminum concentrations in Nova Scotia rivers too high for fish health — The Chronicle Herald
Aluminum concentrations in Nova Scotia rivers are too high to sustain healthy aquatic life, according to a study published recently by a Dalhousie University professor and a team of researchers.

Letters Support Eradication of Smallmouth Bass from Miramichi Watershed — New Brunswick Salmon Council
More than 1,260 people have responded to a letter writing campaign in support of smallmouth bass eradication in New Brunswick’s Miramichi watershed.

Nova Scotia targets invasive Smallmouth bass — Atlantic Salmon Federation
A team from Nova Scotia’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture has taken decisive action against illegally introduced smallmouth bass in the St. Mary’s River watershed. Early indications are that the operation was a success.

Why so glum, chum? Scientists perplexed by this year’s low chum salmon numbers in Yukon River — CBC News
A new count of chum salmon in the Yukon river is giving scientists a sinking feeling. The latest estimates aren’t just bad, they’re “absolutely dismal,” says one researcher.

Cod Predation by Spiny Dogfish in Atlantic — Fishing Wire
As dogfish populations recover from overfishing, questions remain about how much Atlantic cod they are eating and its impact on the struggling cod population. Innovative genetic techniques help shed some light on the situation.

Greg Taylor on B.C.’s 2020 Salmon Returns — Watershed Watch Salmon Society
Greg’s overview provides explanation of this year’s steep declines. “This year, throughout the province, we’ve seen a dramatic and widespread reduction in the number of spawning salmon” – Greg goes on to say, “there is no more time for status quo fishery management, for further habitat destruction, or for industrial salmon hatcheries whose genetically inferior fish compete with wild salmon for limited food supplies”.

Alewife Recovery Continues on St. Croix River Breaking Records — International Joint Commission
Alewives continue to return to the St. Croix River in greater numbers, with a 2020 fish count exceeding 2019’s by more than 25 percent and the highest totals since 1996. The fish count ran from April through July 2020 and recorded 611,907 alewives passing through the Milltown Dam fishway, located near the mouth of the St. Croix River between the communities of St. Stephen, New Brunswick and Calais Maine.

Canada’s Government Sets up a Parks Canada Salmon Research Chair — Atlantic Salmon Federation
A research chair has been funded at the University of New Brunswick that will focus on aquatic restoration. Dr. Kurt Samways has been chosen as the first to hold this chair.

Aquaculture:

Ottawa plans to move from open-net fish pens to ‘sustainable technology’ in B.C. — The Globe and Mail
The federal government says it has a game plan to transition away from open-net fish farming on British Columbia’s coast.

Poor Cousins? DFO in B.C. pledges to get net pens out, but crickets in Atlantic Canada — Atlantic Salmon Federation
A perspective on the odd and unfair situation unfolding with open net pen salmon aquaculture in Canada. How can DFO act one way in the Pacific and not the Atlantic when they are responsible for wild fish health and the coastal environment nation-wide?

The Atlantic salmon doesn’t require tweaking — The Guardian
That’s the opinion of a senior adviser with Nature Canada who is lauding a recent U.S. court ruling that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated core environmental laws when it approved the genetic modification of Atlantic salmon in Canada.

Public asked to weigh in on the treatment of farmed salmon — Maple Ridge News
First-ever animal welfare code for farmed fish enters public input phase. The National Farm Animal Care Council’s public comment period opened Nov. 2 and closes Jan. 7, 2021.

Canadians Petition to modernize Part 6 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Parliament of Canada
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) regulates genetically engineered animals, such as the salmon-like-fish now being grown in PEI. The Canadian Government recently committed to modernizing CEPA which hasn’t been updated in 20 years. A parliamentary petition urging legislators to use the opportunity to beef up safeguards against genetic pollution from modified organisms is now open.

Water Quality:

Environment & Climate Change Canada Wants Your Input on Lake of the Woods Phosphorus Objectives — Lake of the Woods
For over a decade the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation has been advocating for a plan for Lake of the Woods that identifies water quality objectives and reduction targets, particularly for phosphorus, the primary nutrient stimulating algal blooms. The Foundation wants to connect with members of the public who are interested in participating in upcoming public consultations with the federal Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Climate Change.

Federal government tells Teck to improve water quality from 2 B.C. coal operations — CBC News
Teck Resources Ltd. says it has been ordered by Environment and Climate Change Canada to improve the quality of water affected by two of its coal mining operations in B.C.’s Elk Valley.

Input needed on Canada Water Agency! — Environment and Climate Change Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada is inviting your input on priorities for establishment of a Canada Water Agency. Contribute to the consultations and let government know that we can’t have healthy sustainable recreational fisheries without clean water, contiguous watersheds and vibrant shoreline wetlands.

Indigenous:

For a More Sustainable Way to Catch Halibut, Look to the Čibu-D Hook· — Hakai Magazine
The Makah refined the čibu·d over thousands of years. Even today, when compared with modern paired circle hooks, the halibut-specific hook offers a way to reduce by-catch without lowering the catch rate for Pacific halibut.

Canada gives $1.4 million to support Nunavik Inuit’s management of Arqvilliit Indigenous Protected Area — The Narwhal
A federal partnership will aid Indigenous-led monitoring and research of 24,000 hectares of remote Arctic islands that provide critical habitat for polar bears and other species affected by the climate emergency. Protecting the islands, which are also known as the Ottawa Islands, dovetails with the Government of Canada’s national commitment to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s land, inland waters and oceans by 2025.

A lost world returns — Maclean’s
“Human remains unearthed on Vancouver Island have resurfaced the tragic story of the Pentlatch people, who at one time were thought to operate the largest pre-colonial fish trap complex in North America.”

Industry:

How Len Thompson Lures came to the aid of its community during COVID-19 — Angling International
When the owners of Canadian-based Len Thompson Lures realised the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic back in April, they wanted to do their part to help the community. “As with many businesses, we were very slow during the spring,” said company President Brad Pallister. “My sister, Jessica, and I wondered how we could keep people working, while also helping families struggling with the economic impacts of this unprecedented time,” he added. The siblings thought that their nationally distributed lures could generate interest across the country so they introduced six limited edition patterns in May, with half of the proceeds from the sales being donated to community food banks. The lures helped raise a total of $24,122, which Jessica Thompson-Pallister rounded up to $24,350 for the 29 community food banks that were supported.

Toronto Sportsmen’s Show Postponed to 2022 — Masters Promotion Ltd.
For over 70 years the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show has been a favourite for thousands of outdoor enthusiasts and welcomes hundreds of exhibitors annually. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to postpone next year’s show. For exhibitors who had booked and paid for the cancelled 2020 show with Canadian National Sportsmen Shows (CNSS), we will honor our original offer where you can reserve your space at a 50% discount in each of the next two shows.

Boating:

BRP Moves Forward on Project Ghost, Project M Electric Technology — Fishing Wire
As announced last May with the discontinuation of the production of Evinrude E-TEC and E-TEC G2 outboard engines, our Sturtevant facility will be repurposed for new and existing projects such as the next generation of our engine technology, publicly known as Project Ghost and Project M,” BRP senior media relations advisor Elaine Arsenault said.

Protect Your Boat’s Fuel System During Winter Storage — Fishing Wire
Check out these tips for keeping your boat’s engines gunk-free and ready to go when the weather warms again next spring.

Books:

“Days of Rivers Past” by Robert Hooton — B.C. Fly Fishing Federation
In January – when warm and wet, is the time when the local rivers fill with the first runs of steelhead, followed by anglers fishing fly and float. Yet we have seen their steady decline for decades and today the once great rivers on the east coast of Vancouver Island and elsewhere are devoid of fish. How did this happen? In Robert Hooton’s book “Days of Rivers Past” he writes of the systemic destruction of steelhead runs in British Columbia through his intimate knowledge of watersheds, such as the Skeena, Gold and many other streams throughout the Province, gained as a lifelong angler and his 37-years working as a B.C. fisheries biologist.

Book review: Salmon by Mark Kurlansky — Watershed Sentinel
In Salmon, Kurlansky deals with changes in fishing technology and government mismanagement – similar to what happened with the East Coast cod fishery.

Special Feature: Be a Safe steelheader this Fall / Winter

Wherever you spend time steelheading on Canada’s rivers this fall and winter, veteran steelhead angler Jason Barnucz suggests you adopt the following tips to help you prepare and stay safe:

• Familiarize yourself with the river you plan to fish in advance.
• Make sure you have permission from landowners before venturing onto private property.
• Let a family member or close friend know where you’re going and when you expect to return.
• Go with a group of people whenever possible, and practice social distancing.
• Wear a PFD – inflatable PFDs are more compact and comfortable.
• Know the depth of water before attempting to wade into any river or stream.
• Use a staff and wear spiked shoes when wading.
• Layer clothing with synthetic or wool based materials for maximum warmth and comfort.
• Watch for signs of hypothermia, which can occur in any month of the year.
• Pack extra clothes, food and water.
• River conditions often change suddenly causing unexpected new hazards.
• Remember that cellphone signals can be unreliable in wild places and help from emergency responders can take time.
• Bring a garbage bag and pick up litter you may find along the riverbank or at the access point.

About us:

You can read current and back issues of the Blue Fish Canada News at: www.BlueFishCanada.ca

For more about Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only blind professional angler, conservationist, writer, blogger, podcaster, film maker and TV personality, visit: https://lawrencegunther.com/

Please rate The Blue Fish Radio Show on Apple Podcast at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blue-fish-radio-show/id1090189487?uo=4

Share your podcast suggestion or comment in an email to: Admin@BlueFishCanada.ca

Blue Fish Canada is a federally incorporated registered Canadian charity. Please donate to: https://bluefishcanada.ca/donations/