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By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
AVON – With a makeshift air gun fashioned with duct tape and a gas engine on a home-rigged backpack, the biologists with the Department of Marine Resources laughed as they blasted holes for hatchery eggs into a rocky tributary of the Sandy. But their work could be a part of a long-sought Atlantic salmon solution.
Paul Christman, a biologist with the Department of Marine Resources in Hallowell, places salmon eggs in a tributary of the Sandy River in Avon. With Christman are, from left, Jed Wright, with the Gulf of Maine Coastal Program, Craig Knights and Chris Domina, with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Photos by Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Salmon eggs are placed in a tube, where they will sink to the river bottom and be covered over with rocks when the tube is pulled out.
Biologist Paul Christman quietly has planted Atlantic salmon eggs in Maine rivers for three years, but in another two years his project could move to the forefront of the national Atlantic salmon recovery effort. Already the project makes Maine a leader in North America in salmon recovery, said Joan Trial, Maine’s senior salmon biologist.
“Salmon restoration has been going on quite a while. Paul is coming up with a way to produce more (salmon) spending more time in a natural environment as opposed to a hatchery. There is some strong evidence that these fish may be more successful surviving out at sea. The more time they spend in their natural habitat, the more imprinted they will be to it. This could be a piece to the puzzle, and a very intriguing piece,” said Trial.
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Salmon were first listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000 in a small portion of Maine. Then in 2009, the list was expanded and the salmon’s status elevated to endangered.
Trial said the first few years Maine stocked fry in its rivers, there were encouraging results. But that was 10 years ago, and while the removal of dams since then has led to sea-run fish like alewives and herring running up Maine rivers once again, the salmon’s return has been slow.
In addition, those salmon returning are not all wild. And to be taken off the endangered species list, Maine must have wild Atlantic salmon returning to rivers here.
Currently the service is working on a recovery plan that maps out what is needed to delist the salmon. That plan will go to public comment later this year, said Antonio Bentivoglio, the service’s Atlantic salmon recovery coordinator in Maine.
But it will take at least 10 years for the necessary criteria to be met for the salmon to be delisted to threatened and then endangered status, Bentivoglio said.
“For delisting, we have to minimize the hatchery influence, so the hatchery won’t be stocking millions of par and smolts. Then we’ll have much great confidence that they are wild fish,” Bentivoglio said. “Once we get to threatened status, then we’ll have a plan in place to slowly decrease the number of hatchery fish that go out. We want to slowly reduce it, so we can assess the impact, and hopefully wild fish will increase.”
ON THE LIST
First the Atlantic salmon need to show returns of at least 6,000 in its historic ranges: Merrymeeting Bay, the Penobscot River and the Downeast rivers.
In 2010 in the Downeast rivers, just 164 Atlantic salmon returned; in the Penobscot River there were only 1,316; and 14 in Merrymeeting Bay (the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers), Bentivoglio said.
So the recovery effort has a long way to go.
Whether Christman’s egg planting project can get DMR there is unknown. But there is a lot of hope in the offices at USFW and the Maine fishery agency because the salmon that result from the eggs he plants are considered “more wild” than the fry stocked from hatchery raised eggs.
The salmon that emerge from the eggs Christman plants are considered wild enough to be counted when the service considers whether to downgrade salmon from endangered to threatened, Bentivoglio said.
But the salmon’s international plight is complicated. Scientists still do not know why their marine survival is low, in some cases as low as 50 percent.
“(Christman’s eggs) should be more viable in their natural environment than the hatchery produced smolts. There should be more going out to sea. But we’re not sure what’s going on with marine survival and why marine survival has been so low. Something is going on out in the ocean that the United States, Iceland, Canada and Greenland are trying to figure out, too,” said Trial in Maine’s Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat.
OUT TO SEA
The first egg planting done by Christman was in 2009. But in the Atlantic salmon’s life cycle, those fish won’t return to their native rivers, where the salmon emerge from the eggs until 2014. At that point, everyone at DMR will be watching to see if they do. If all goes well, lots of salmon should return.
In 2009, Christman planted 130,000 in the Sandy River; in 2010, he increased the number to 450,000; and again to 860,000 last year. This year, 1 million Atlantic salmon eggs will be planted in salmon habitat in Maine.
His work has shown success with survival rates. The emergence rate from eggs is upward of 40 to 50 percent in some places, he said, which is as good as egg planting projects anywhere.
But the telltale sign will be if the salmon return in 2014. Christman thinks they will return from the sea and run up Maine rivers to where he has planted eggs.
“The idea is that they are more in tune with the river than hatchery fish. Their performance should be better, and their survival better. And from what we’re seeing, yes, they are behaving much better,” Christman said.
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com
Twitter: Flemingpph
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.
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.
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
Atlantic cod (Photo credit: MA Division of Marine Fisheries).
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 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.
The new fishing season might seem like a long way off but we’re really only a couple months away from when folks will begin extracting fishing rods from attics and sheds, pulling winter tarps from their boats, and reviewing their charts, just to make extra sure they’re set and ready for the fun times ahead. The natural optimism found in most anglers may foster aspirations for a new fishing season filled with beautiful weather and stringers full of big fish. But in these times when it seems fishermen are so often hampered by political, environmental, and economic issues, even the most optimistic angler can sometimes have trouble keeping a smile on their face when the winter news carries so many headlines of “doom and gloom.” So it’s always refreshing to hear some good news about positive developments within the fishing industry. On that note, let me reintroduce to you the Ocean City Reef Foundation and MARI. 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.
Its activities may not always capture front-page headlines, but since 1997 the Ocean City Reef Foundation has been busy creating and enhancing offshore fish habitat through an ever-expanding network of artificial reefs. From boats to barges, cable to concrete, tanks to trains, in recent years Reef Foundation administrators have strategically submerged so much material off our shores that give fish traveling through Maryland waters a reason to reside and reproduce off our coast.
There have always been artificial reefs off Ocean City. But, until the Reef Foundation got to work, offshore structure was restricted to a small handful of boats and ships that accidentally sank, or structure that was intentionally put down by a few well meaning anglers on a very limited basis. Consequently, local wreck fishing used to be practiced by a relatively small segment of local anglers who, through years of trial and error, acquired the coordinates to the bulk of offshore structure. Since no one wants to schedule their day around fishing a certain wreck and then find someone else already anchored over it, once obtained these coordinates were very seldom shared with other fishermen. With such limited opportunities, local wreck fishing was destined to remain one of Ocean City’s best-kept secrets.
Not any more. The OC Reef Foundation has been so successful at seeding the waters that fishermen no longer have a need to keep a good thing to themselves. There’s plenty of places to fish, and plenty of fish once you get there.
When structure goes down it immediately begins to provide safe habitat for aquatic life. In relatively short order, entire living communities can establish themselves on, in, and around the structure. In areas where the ocean floor was little more than smooth bottom there becomes a living reef and complete food chain, from tiny microscopic plants and animals to large predators. The Reef Foundation is just getting warmed up; they sink structure all year and have lots more on the agenda.
A few years ago Maryland also got into the reef building business when they kicked off the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI), which includes over 60 private, state, and federal partners, and acts as a funding mechanism (using private and corporate donations) for reef development in Maryland. It’s a volunteer organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and creating fish habitat in tidewater Maryland. Funding for MARI comes from the Coastal Conservation Association, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the coalition of donors and partners. MARI brings together a coalition of diverse stakeholders to accomplish meaningful and measurable goals that not only benefit the sport fishing industry, but also provide priceless marine habitat. Last summer, MARI had a hand in the offshore sinking of the 564-foot warship Radford which is now in striking distance of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey fishermen.
Though spring is still few months away, sooner or later it will be here and happy anglers will once again put to sea in hopes of enjoying their best fishing season ever. Fishermen should take comfort in knowing that the Ocean City Reef Foundation and MARI are working hard to ensure that such hopes can indeed become reality. For more information about the Reef Foundation visitwww.ocreeffoundation.com, or see www.dnr.state.md.us for details on MARI.