Bull trout in the upper Fraser watershed (UFW) of British Columbia are important top predators and serve as the basis of a recreational fishery. Anglers in the region have asked government to consider changing current fishing regulations for bull trout from catch-and-release to regulations that allow them to take a portion of their catch home. Allowing for this regulatory change would increase the types of fishing opportunities in the area but could harm bull trout populations.
Mysis diluviana, a shrimp-like crustacean, is an invasive species in Okanagan Lake. As part of a strategy by the BC government to reduce the impact of this species on the natural lake ecosystem, Piscine Energetics Inc. has been harvesting Mysis from Okanagan Lake since 2000 and retails the harvested Mysis as fish food to the ornamental aquarium industry. There are indications that Mysis could also be an effective source of nutrition for rearing trout and salmon in hatcheries.
Re-establishing salmonid populations to areas historically occupied has substantial potential for conservation gains, however, such interventions also risk negatively impacting native resident stocks. An on-going reintroduction of anadromous sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to Skaha Lake, British Columbia is succeeding, with large numbers returning to spawn. However, a recent genetic study detected strong evidence of hybridization and introgression with native kokanee (freshwater obligate form of O.
Regardless of the numerous fishing opportunities, and cultural and historical significance of fishing in British Columbia, the number of freshwater fishing licenses sold to residents has been declining. Many British Columbia anglers are lapsed, meaning that they do not purchase a license every year. A better understanding of these anglers, and the difference between them and avid anglers (who purchase licenses yearly) will help Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia to make regular fishing more attractive and accessible to different types of anglers.
The project is designed with the following objectives: Improving the statistical formulation for the recently developed stock assessment model for BC lakes so that it maybe fitted to more types of field data, e.g., stocking, gillnet test fishing and angling effort data, and applying it toimprove understanding of kokanee-rainbow trout interactions in lakes, Â assembling lake characteristics informationand quantifying the biological potential for kokanee production in BC stocked lakes, analysing creel informationand angler effort data to explore angler preferences across BC for targeted specie
Elevated levels of stress hormones (i.e. cortisol) provide a potential mechanism by which substrate condition affects larval development and survival in the endangered white sturgeon. The possibility that stress hormones mediate larval response to substrate conditions will be investigated by artificially elevating cortisol levels and identifying effects on larval physiology. Cortisol levels of wild caught adult fish will also be investigated to determine the effects of capture and handling on spawning success and larval quality.
The goal of this project is to develop a method of estimating optimum stocking strategies in mixed species lakes in collaboration with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, a non-profit organization which works in partnership with the provincial government to deliver the fish stocking program as well as providing conservation fish culture services. The growth and survival of stocked fish will be estimated across a range of initial sizes, trout densities and competitor fish densities.
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