By Evan Tichonuk, Fisheries Technician, and T.J. Kocken, Fisheries Technician
Our 2021 Fish Rescue recently concluded and we are excited to report on the results! First, however, Trout Unlimited Canada would like to give a huge thank you to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) and all the phenomenal volunteers for making this year’s Alberta Fish Rescue one to remember. Our efforts would not be possible without the tremendous support and contributions of the numerous volunteers who came out to help at each of the rescues.
Every year, the irrigation canals located throughout southern Alberta are shut off at the end of the growing season. This results in the stranding of any fish which entered the canals during the irrigation season. As the canals drain and what little water remains freezes, fish are vulnerable to perishing if left over the winter. In fact, even while the canals are full of water in the summertime, fish are still considered “lost” to their populations as they cannot get back to their home river or reservoir without human intervention. In order to reduce this substantial loss of fish, volunteers and staff with TUC, in partnership with AEP conduct fish rescues every year. This year marked the 23rd year of annual Fish Rescues along southern Alberta irrigation canals. Even though volunteer numbers were limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we had volunteers who traveled from Edmonton and even Vancouver to lend a hand! We are grateful to our friends with the Blackfoot Confederacy for coming to help at several sites as well as members of the Oldman River Chapter, and students from Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge. To our many returning volunteers, thank you for all the fun times, laughs, and continued support. To our newer volunteers, thank you for coming out and giving Fish Rescue a shot. We hope you’ll all be back next year.
Crunching the numbers. In October 2021, TUC conducted a fish rescue in four of Southern Alberta’s canals: Western Headworks Canal (WHC), Carseland Bow River Headworks Canal (CBRHC), Lethbridge Northern Headworks Canal (LNID), and Waterton-Belly Diversion Canal (WBD). Over 130 volunteers came to help throughout the eleven days of fieldwork. Thanks to the hard work of volunteers our efforts resulted in the capture and rescue of 31,968 fish and their subsequent release back into their rivers of origin, with the exception of captured aquatic invasive species (Prussian Carp).
A Milestone Year! This year, sportfish made up 51.3% of the total fish rescued, with Mountain Whitefish representing an astounding 41.5% of the total catch with 13,251 captured. Rainbow and Brown Trout were the next most abundant sportfish captured making up 5.3% and 3.2% of the catch, respectively. Next, we had Lake Whitefish and Burbot as the next most abundant sportfish rescued with 0.7% and 0.5% of the catch, respectively. Additionally, we also rescued a few other species in lower abundances including one large Bull Trout. Non-sportfish rescued comprised 48.7% of the catch. The most abundant non-sportfish rescued were the Longnose Sucker and White Sucker representing 16.5% and 10.9% of the total catch, respectively. The next most abundant non-sportfish were Longnose Dace (10%) and Spoonhead Sculpin (6.1%).
The fish rescue has been occurring in Alberta on an annual basis since 1998. This year’s fish rescue represents a huge milestone, with the total number of fish rescued over the years surpassing 1,000,000 fish! Following the addition of this year’s catch, our running total now is astronomical 1,007,613 fish!
Fish Facts The largest fish rescued during the 2021 Fish Rescue was a Northern Pike that measured 639 mm (>25 inches) rescued from the Waterton Belly Diversion Canal (WBD). The next largest fish was a Brown Trout that measured 612 mm which was also rescued from WBD. Other interesting rescues made this year was an all-time record Spoonhead Sculpin which measured a staggering 127 mm (5 inches), also from WBD. For reference, this species averages only 70-80 mm in length which further solidifies how exceptional this individual was!
Volunteer Abundance Even with limited group sizes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was phenomenal interest in volunteering for the Fish Rescue events, with 134 volunteers contributing nearly 1000 hours of volunteer effort!
We hope that everyone’s volunteer experience was a positive one. We really could not have done it without your help! We are sure that you’ll be practicing to find the best dip netting techniques to get the big ones next year! We really can’t thank you enough for all the support. We hope that you will join us again during future rescues!
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