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Tag: artificial fish attractors
Sturgeon need more fish habitat
Environment File
JORDAN VERLAGE/St. Albert Gazette
Scientists say some 600 fish found dead this week by the sewer outfall closest to the city’s cenotaph likely died of winterkill from a lack of oxygen in the Sturgeon River.
Science team spots fish kill
Local scientists had their sleuthing hats on this week after hundreds of silvery fish turned up dead in the Sturgeon River. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
Public works staff and researchers from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) recovered several sack-loads of dead fish from a sewer outfall by St. Albert Place Thursday morning.
A man walking a dog first spotted the fish last weekend, says Laurie Hunt, the associate chair of biological science technology at NAIT who is running a 10-year study of the Sturgeon River. The unidentified man alerted a team of NAIT researchers who happened to be taking water samples on the river at the time, and they investigated.
The team found roughly 600 dead fish by the sewer outfall closest to the city’s cenotaph, Hunt says — some floating in the open water, others frozen under the ice. “The whole little channel was full of them.” While most were minnow-sized sticklebacks, there were also a fair number of larger fish such as northern pike and white sucker.
Hunt told city officials on Wednesday, who in turn called in Alberta Fish and Wildlife fisheries biologist Daryl Watters.
Watters, who examined the site, says the fish appear to be victims of winterkill — a relatively common occurrence in shallow rivers like the Sturgeon.
“It’s unfortunate, since you don’t want to see young small fish like that taken out before they can contribute, but it happens.”
Winterkill happens when fish crowd into too small an area, such as the small bit of open water by most outfalls, use up all the oxygen there and die. Readings taken by the NAIT team suggest that the water next to the outfall has much more oxygen in it than that in the rest of the Sturgeon, which may have attracted the fish.
The NAIT team has collected the fish with the province’s permission for further study, Hunt says. The team is studying the sex ratios of fish in the Sturgeon to check for signs of gender-bending pollutants.
“We didn’t have a lot of success catching fish this summer,” she says, but this discovery has handily solved that problem.
Winterkill incidents like this illustrate the importance of having diverse fish habitat, Hunt says — if the Sturgeon had a better mix of shallow and deep spots, these fish may have had a better chance of surviving.
“It also emphasizes the importance of beavers,” she adds, as their dams create deep, oxygenated pools in which fish can survive over winter.
Bluegill habitat moves to artificial products to attract more fish
Bluegill Habitat
When you go bluegill fishing habitat is one of the key factors on your mind when deciding where to go to find fish to catch. Some bodies of waters are habitat rich with aquatic plants, dead falls, stumps and so on. Other ponds either never had good structures for habitat or they rotted and decomposed long ago. One option is to sink more structures with items from around the house for little or no cost such as old Christmas trees, pallets or scrap wood formed into a 3D design. These structures are great for a while, but they eventually break down or change until they are no longer a desired location for bluegill to gather.
See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
Mississippi fish attractor rules and regulations for placing fish habitat
See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
DNR continues fish crib project on Cedar Lake
It’s a cold crisp Saturday morning in mid-January and the ice off the north boat landing on Cedar Lake is alive with the sounds of chain saws and Bobcats.
Volunteers line up the lumber for a fish crib. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
It’s a cold crisp Saturday morning in mid-January and the ice off the north boat landing on Cedar Lake is alive with the sounds of chain saws and Bobcats.
On the horizon, shantytowns harbor diehard fishermen trying their luck through 16 inches of ice. However, the largest and loudest population on the ice this morning consists of volunteers from Star Prairie Fish & Game and the Cedar Lake Management District, along with concerned local anglers, who are working together with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources constructing 45 new fish cribs.
John Bush, a volunteer from SPF&G, sits behind the wheel of a four wheeler waiting for a crew of his fellow volunteers to position one of the completed cribs on his sled. His job is to tow cribs to one of three staging areas located on the south end of the lake.
Wearing a fashionable blue hardhat and bright green safety vest, Barbara Scott with the DNR props herself up against several rods of rebar.
Surrounding her are numerous cribs in various stages of completion. They look like miniature log houses with no roofs stuffed full of brush and tree branches.
Scott explains part of the process; The logs are placed on top of each other leaving about an eight-inch gap between each layer.
“Once the logs are in place, we bend the tops of the rebar over to hold it all together,” Scott said. “Then we place branches in between the layers to create the fish habitat. After the cribs have been towed into place, we tie cinder blocks on top to prevent them from moving once they sink.”
The cribs will sit in place out on the ice until spring thaw. As the ice melts, the cribs slowly settle into place at the bottom of the lake.
Fish techs from the DNR were out on the lake in the fall determining the precise locations where the cribs would be located.
Daryl Berg, with a pipe in hand, is hard at work bending rebar. Besides being a self-appointed “log loader and brush builder,” Berg is a local fisherman who makes time to help with this project because he “cares about the fish habitat.”
Marty Engel is a biologist with the DNR’s Lower Chippewa and Central Wisconsin Fisheries Team. He operates out of the DNR office in Baldwin and this morning he’s in charge of making sure the cribs are correctly constructed and delivered to the correct locations. The plan is to sink up to 500 cribs throughout Cedar Lake over the course of the next 10 to 20 years.
“Cedar Lake is clear enough to grow weeds in the spring, but by around June 15th, the algae begins to come on strong. When the lights go out, the plants don’t grow,” Engel said. “By mid-July the weeds are starting to die back and by August they’ve all but died off. Cribs are one way to create alternate habitat in green lakes.”
Creating log cribs provides a place for fish to migrate to when the weeds die off. According to Engel, the center of the cribs provides cover for smaller fish like bluegills, perch and crappies, while the extended branches on the perimeter provide hunting areas for larger species like northern pike, walleyes and muskies.
“Once they go through the ice, fish will gravitate to them instantaneously,” he said.
The results of the project have been promising.
“There wasn’t a lot of good pan fishing on this lake 10 years ago,” Engel recalls, “But now you can tell the results just by seeing the number of ice shacks out on the lake and talking with the people.”
Ever wonder why all the shacks seem to congregate in just a few areas on the lake? Individual cribs are installed in “colonies” to mimic habitat like a weed bed.
By the end of the day, Cedar Lake will be home to numerous colonies consisting of 325 individual cribs. The fish, both predator and prey, move to where the colonies are. The fishermen follow the fish resulting in a landscape of shantytowns right on top of the cribs.
Marty reports that the DNR working in conjunction with several other volunteer groups, including students from Somerset High School, is starting crib construction initiatives on two other local lakes, Bass and Glen. In addition to the winter crib construction programs, the DNR will also be creating “near-shore” structure on Bass Lake once the water opens up by dragging 80 oak trees out into the lake so that the crowns of the trees rest in about eight feet of water.
By: By Tom Lindfors, New Richmond News
Massachusetts- loans of up to $50,000 each to small boat fishermen
Fish Talk in the News
Atlantic cod (Photo credit: MA Division of Marine Fisheries).- In late January, NOAA announced that it has begun using a new system to estimate catch from recreational fishermen. The new system will correct past bias and start to better represent what is happening on the water.
- Massachusetts set up the Commercial Fisheries Revolving Loan Fund, a $1 million fund that will provide loans of up to $50,000 each to small boat fishermen to assist them with purchasing groundfishquota under the sector system.
- More Massachusetts news: the Commonwealth’s Seafood Marketing Commission, a group comprised of lawmakers, state officials, restaurant leaders, and commercial fishermen, had its first full meeting earlier this week. According to the Boston Globe, “[t]he goal is to brand Massachusetts seafood — the way Maine does with lobster and Alaska promotes salmon — as a healthy, sustainable food that supports the local economy.”
- This piece of news is from a few weeks ago, and it’s not one of the topics we usually cover, but some might find it interesting: a couple is raising tilapia in garbage and recycling bins in the South Bronx and teaching low-income children about aquaculture and urban farming.
- This week, the Conservation Law Foundation announced the creation of its Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper program. Waterkeeper Peter Wellenberger will work to protect the waters making up New Hampshire’s Great Bay estuary, which are threatened by pollution, population growth, sprawl, and outdated water infrastructure. As we reported earlier this week on TalkingFish.org, protecting estuaries (such as the Great Bay estuary) is critical to preserving important fish habitat.
- Gulf of Maine cod is of course featuring heavily in the news this week, and for good reason. Here’s an article from the Globe with updates on the interim rule proposed by the New England Fishery Management Council for GOM cod catch limits for the 2012 fishing year, as well as steps the Council and NOAA will take going forward. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
Atlantic sturgeon listed as endangered species
By Juliet Eilperin, Published: February 1
Once plentiful, sturgeon populations in the U.S. and across the world have plummeted since humans targeted them for their caviar.
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service listed the New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina and South Atlantic populations as endangered, and the Gulf of Maine population as threatened. The move could lead to new protections for the fish’s habitat along the East Coast. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
Some species of American sturgeon that have declined are now making a comeback. TheTennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga has led an effort to reintroduce 115,000 lake sturgeon into the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers over the past decade. Sturgeon on those waters went extinct in the 1970s.
Anna George, the aquarium’s director of conservation, said people can identify with sturgeon because their life history is closer to that of humans than most fish.
“They don’t reproduce until they’re teenagers, and they can live for a really long time,” she said, noting that lake sturgeon live to be as old as 150.
Destruction of fish habitat brings hefty fine
Those responsible for the construction of a marina will have to pay heavy fines for damaging important fish habitat. (Photo: Stock File)
CANADA
Wednesday, February 01, 2012, 22:40 (GMT + 9)
On 26 January 2012 in the Provincial Court of Alberta, RJ Williscroft Contracting Ltd pled guilty to one count of a violation of subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act for “the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat”. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine and penalties totaling CAD 90,000 (USD 89,920).
The charge related to a project proposal by Shadow Creek Resort Inc (owned and directed by Mr RJ Williscroft) to construct and connect an inland marina and approaches in the community of Joussard, Alberta to Lesser Slave Lake, via a dredged channel.
The Court heard that on 15 September 2008, an environmental consultant sent applications on behalf of “Shadow Creek Resort Inc c/o RJ Williscroft Contracting Ltd” to various federal and Alberta government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for approvals related to the construction of a proposed inland marina development on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Fisheries and Oceans Canada concluded that the proposed works would likely result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, thus an authorization and environmental assessment would be necessary.
The environmental assessment began in October 2009. Aboriginal consultations with potentially affected First Nations and Métis groups began in December 2009.
In the spring of 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was notified of alleged works being conducted in the lake by the defendants prior to the environmental assessment and consultation process being complete, and prior to a Fisheries Act authorization being issued. The excavation of the lakebed removed aquatic vegetation and its substrate, and damaged spawning and rearing habitat for many Lesser Slave Lake species of fish, including Northern Pike, Walleye and Yellow Perch. Lesser Slave Lake sustains a valuable commercial, recreational and Aboriginal subsistence fishery.
At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Court ordered a fine of CAD 8,500 (USD 8,492) to be paid under subsection 40(1) of the Fisheries Act. Two penalties were also ordered by the Court.
An amount of CAD 500 (USD 499.56) will be paid to the Alberta Conservation Association for the creation and installation of a sign to educate the public about the fish species in Lesser Slave Lake. A total of CAD 81,000 (USD 80,928) will be paid to Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will be used to hire an environmental consultant to consider ways to enhance fish habitat and to conduct a monitoring project in the inland marina. The remainder of the penalty will be used to conserve and protect fish and fish habitat in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed.
Prior to undertaking work in or around water, Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to avoid potential harmful impacts to Canada’s fisheries by ensuring they have obtained and are in compliance with all necessary permits, approvals or authorizations from municipal, provincial, and federal agencies and authorities. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
Diamond mines clash with the fish habitat
Diamond mining company De Beers lobbied government officials to allow them to drain a lake in the Northwest Territories, decimating local fish habitat, in order to move forward with its Gahcho Kue diamond mine. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
$90,000 Fine for Damage to Fish Habitat
| Fisheries and Oceans Canada
|
January 31, 2012 12:00 ET
Court Imposes Significant Fine for Damage to Northern Pike Habitat
HIGH PRAIRE, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Jan. 31, 2012) – On January 26, 2012 in the Provincial Court of Alberta, R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. pled guilty to one count of a violation of subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act for “the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat“. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine and penalties totaling $90,000. The charge related to a project proposal by Shadow Creek Resort Inc. (owned and directed by Mr. R.J. Williscroft) to construct and connect an inland marina and approaches in the community of Joussard, Alberta to Lesser Slave Lake, via a dredged channel.
The Court heard that on September 15, 2008, an environmental consultant sent applications on behalf of “Shadow Creek Resort Inc. c/o R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd.” to various federal and Alberta government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for approvals related to the construction of a proposed inland marina development on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Fisheries and Oceans Canada concluded that the proposed works would likely result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, thus an authorization and environmental assessment would be necessary. The environmental assessment began in October 2009. Aboriginal consultations with potentially affected First Nations and Métis groups began in December 2009. In the spring of 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was notified of alleged works being conducted in the lake by the defendants prior to the environmental assessment and consultation process being complete, and prior to a Fisheries Act authorization being issued. The excavation of the lakebed removed aquatic vegetation and lakebed substrate and damaged spawning and rearing habitat for many Lesser Slave Lake species of fish, including Northern Pike, Walleye and Yellow Perch. Lesser Slave Lake sustains a valuable commercial, recreational and Aboriginal subsistence fishery.
At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Court ordered a fine of $8,500 to be paid under subsection 40(1) of the Fisheries Act. Two penalties were also ordered by the Court. An amount of $500 will be paid to the Alberta Conservation Association for the creation and installation of a sign to educate the public about the fish species in Lesser Slave Lake. A total of $81,000 will be paid into Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will be used to hire an environmental consultant to consider ways to enhance fish habitat in the inland marina and to conduct a monitoring project in the inland marina. The remainder of the penalty will be used to conserve and protect fish and fish habitat in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in science based, proven, fish protection.
Prior to undertaking work in or around water, Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to avoid the potential for any harmful impacts to Canada’s fisheries by ensuring they have obtained and are in compliance with all necessary permits, approvals or authorizations from municipal, provincial, and federal agencies and authorities.
FOR BROADCAST:
Fines were handed out in provincial court today after R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. of Alberta pled guilty to damaging fish habitat in Lesser Slave Lake. The defendant was ordered to pay a total of $90,000 in fines and penalties for violating the federal Fisheries Act. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has requested that $81,000.00 of the penalties be directed to Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund for fish habitat enhancement and monitoring in the inland marina and area.
Contact Information
- Alicia McTavish
Regional Communications Manager
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Central and Arctic Region
403-292-6599