Fish Movement Study at RMNP
Parks Canada along with researchers from Brandon University are studying the movement of northern pike (jackfish) in Clear Lake in order to learn more about their habitat and spawning behaviour. At the end of March, local ice fishers were invited to participate in the project by submitting pike for tagging. These fish were fitted with radio transmitters that will be used to follow their movements between Clear Lake and South Lake.
Randi & Kendelle Tracking © Parks Canada / Chris Malcolm
“The local ice fishers got very involved in the project,” said Tim Sallows who works in Resource Conservation for Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP). “The response was great. Everyone was willing to help out and catch a few pike for us.”
In all 54 fish were caught and 40 were fitted with transmitters.
“The fishers would catch a fish and shout out or bring it over to the tagging station,” explained Dr. Chris Malcolm, from the Geography Department at Brandon University. Malcolm is the lead researcher on this project. “Sometimes they would even call us on their cell phones, so then we would jump on a snowmobile and bring it back. It’s been a great cooperative venture between the park, local fishers and the university.”
The enthusiasm for the project ran high and several evenings when the fish were biting late in the day, the researchers worked by the headlight of their snow machine to complete the day’s tagging. The days were long but productive.
“I thought it was exciting to be invited to participate in the study,” said Clay Hutchinson of Onanole who has been fishing on Clear Lake for more than 50 years. “I practice a combination of catch and release. I keep the ones that are ten pounds or smaller. The larger ones are the females and they are the primary spawners. It makes sense to put them back. Most local people do the same.”
In all, 40 fish were tagged. The largest weighed 11.2 kg (24.8 lbs); the longest was 109 cm (43 inches). The big fish in the lake are the females and they are very important to the study. Nineteen of them were fitted with both a standard radio transmitter that will track their movements over the next 12 months, as well as a smaller nano-tag that was dropped when they spawned. So far 15 of the 19 nano-tags have been located - all of them in South Lake - revealing to researchers where the preferred spawning grounds are.
“From talking to anglers we know that fish go into South Lake to spawn,” explained Malcolm. “Now we have some hard data to support it.”
Fishers from Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation (KOFN) will also take part in the study. Fish will be caught in hoop nets in the waters off the land KOFN owns along the northwest shore of Clear Lake. It is thought that the marshy areas along that part of the lake also provide good spawning grounds for jackfish.
Connection between Clear Lake and South Lake South Lake and Clear Lake are usually separated by a narrow sandy isthmus. In the spring a channel often opens up between the two lakes. That allows fish to move back and forth. This year the channel breached on March 17 and will remain open until later in the summer when a strong northwest wind blows in the sandbar for the season.
There is a lot of variability in the system so some years the channel stays open for a long period of time. Some years it does not open at all. How and when fish move back and forth between Clear and South Lakes is something that fish biologists and local anglers alike have speculated about for years. This year’s fish movement study will provide new information about the interplay between these two lakes and how that affects fish populations.
The sport fishers in the area are interested to hear about the outcome of the study as are the members of KOFN. Final results are not expected until 2011, but Dr. Malcolm has been asked to give a public presentation during the summer to explain the research and to report on the spawning data that was collected. The exact date and location will be announced as soon as details are finalized.
What to do if you find a tagged fish
If you catch a fish with a transmitter tag on it, researchers are hoping that you will let it go for the sake of the study. However, should you decide to keep the fish, they would appreciate it if you recorded the following information and then contacted the RMNP Wildlife Lab at 848-7269: the ID number from tag (the ID number on transmitter might be difficult to see), the catch location (with GPS coordinates, if possible), the length (from nose to tip of tail), and the weight of the fish. You may be asked to return the transmitter or hold on to it until it can be picked up.
Improvements to fish habitat
Recent upgrades to the wastewater treatment facilities for Wasagaming will have a positive impact on water quality and fish populations. The 40-year old system which was built to the standards of the day allowed up to 80 percent of wastewater to ex-filtrate into Ominnik Marsh. The marsh drains into South Lake through a ditch that was dug in the fifties in order to protect Clear Lake from the effects of the sewage lagoon. The original outlet of the marsh through Octopus Creek into Clear Lake was dammed.
Wetlands have long been used to safely and reliably clean up wastewater so this was not an uncommon practice in the past. But due to increasing pressure from human development, the system had reached its capacity. Parks Canada has committed $10 million to complete a major overhaul to the system. It is expected that water quality will improve in Ominnik Marsh which empties into South Lake, ensuring the continued health of the entire Clear Lake Basin.
In the summer of 2009, the lagoons were drained and lined with an impermeable membrane. Once the project is back online, aeration and ultraviolet (UV) light will be used to treat 100 percent of the effluent. Because there are three lagoon cells, the facility stayed in operation throughout construction by carefully managing the timing of the project and the rotation of the cells. The work on the wastewater treatment facility will continue this summer.
Clay Hutchinson and
Dr. Chris Malcolm© Parks Canada / Cam McKillop
Clay Hutchinson (left) holds a Northern Pike that he caught for the fish movement study headed by Dr. Chris Malcolm (right) of Brandon University.
Transmitter© Parks Canada / Chris Malcolm
A fish fitted with two types of transmitters: one tracks movement for up to 12 months, and the other smaller nano-tag will show researchers where the fish have spawned.