A WHIRLwind of a Season for the Whirling Disease Program

A WHIRLwind of a season for the Whirling Disease Program-Paige Kuczmarski, Whirling Disease Technician Alberta Environment and Parks.

Whirling disease, caused by a microscopic parasite, affects salmonid species – specifically, trout and whitefish, which are valued sport fishing species in Alberta. After the first detection of this parasite in Johnson Lake in Banff in 2016, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) created the Whirling Disease Program to help mitigate the impacts of whirling disease.

TUC Staff Install Stream Temperature Loggers (TUC photo)

Since 2016, monitoring has helped to confirm the presence of the parasite in four watersheds in the province:

1. North Saskatchewan

2. Bow River

3. Red Deer River

4. Oldman River

Although entire watersheds are not infected, portions of them contain the parasite. Preventing the spread of whirling disease further into these watersheds, or others, is imperative as up to 90% mortality in juveniles can occur in susceptible species, which could be detrimental to native fish populations.

The Whirling Disease Program continues to monitor the spread and impacts of whirling disease on Alberta’s water bodies and fish populations. This season was quite the whirlwind with multiple projects for the program:

1. A new sentinel cage study in the Crowsnest River to determine the severity of whirling disease in the river

2. Ongoing temperature monitoring in collaboration with Trout Unlimited Canada to assess water temperature conditions associated with both the presence and outbreak of the parasite

3. A susceptibility project in collaboration with the University of Alberta to determine the susceptibility of Alberta specific trout populations to whirling disease

4. Updates to the Decontamination Protocol for Watercraft and Equipment to trigger mandatory decontamination requirements for Fish Research Licenses and Water Act Approvals

Currently, AEP staff are awaiting lab results and will be spending the winter months analyzing all the information they collected to prepare a comprehensive report on their findings. Preliminary results show that Rainbow Trout populations in the lower portion of the Crowsnest River are now experiencing impacts from whirling disease. The data collected from these projects, as well as others, is essential to understand what conditions are necessary for whirling disease to break out and impact our fish populations. Using this data and the tools they have developed, staff will now be able to build a framework for identifying the risk of whirling disease spread into other vulnerable fish populations, which will allow for appropriate and proactive management strategies moving forward.

We whirl never give up and hope you will help us tackle any further spread of this harmful disease into your favourite fishing hole or elsewhere in Alberta, by always making sure to:

1. Clean, drain, dry your gear or use dedicated gear in positive waterbodies

2. Never move live or dead fish or fish parts from one waterbody to another (this is illegal in Alberta)

3. Use fish cleaning stations or put fish parts in the garbage

4. Keep current with the Whirling Disease Program and their efforts

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