Status of Sport Fishes in Vandersteene Lake, Alberta 2004
Author(s)
Greg Fortier and John Tchir
Summary
Increased access in the Red Earth area in the Northwest region of Alberta, resulting from the development of new roads, has raised concerns about impacts of potential increases in angling pressure on sport fish populations of lakes in the region, including Vandersteene Lake. The present study was conducted on Vandersteene Lake to generate quantitative data on abundance, population structure, and growth of four major sport species, walleye (Sander vitreus), northern pike (Esox lucius), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens), that can be used to assess impacts of the increased fishing pressure.
A total of 596 sport fish were captured during the survey of which lake whitefish was the most abundant, accounting for 52.3% of the catch and yellow perch the least abundant, accounting for 2.5% of the catch; walleye and northern pike constituted 9.7 and 4.0% of the total catch, respectively.
Mean catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for walleye ranged from 0.0 to 10.25 fish/100m2/24h with a total CPUE of 1.78 fish/100m2/24h. Of the 57 walleye sampled, 38.6% were females and 51.4% were males, resulting in a female to male sex ratio of 0.63:1. Length of females ranged from 198 to 696 FL mm with a mean (±SD) of 507.7 ± 127.8 mm (n = 22) while males ranged from 189 to 620 mm FL with a mean of 463.9 ± 85.6 mm (n = 35). Males ranged in age from 3 to 21 years with a mean of 12.9 ± 3.17 years (n = 35) while age of females ranged from 3 to 22 years with a mean of 12.2 ± 4.59 years (n = 21). Overall mean age of the catch was 12.8 ± 3.78 years (n = 57). Age-13 fish were the most predominant age-class, representing 54.5% of the total catch with a mean TL of 51.7 ± 50.84 (n = 31).
Mean CPUE for northern pike ranged from 0.17 to 2.03 fish/100m2/24h with a total CPUE of 0.73 fish/100m2/24h. Of the 24 northern pike sampled, 62.5% were females and 37.5% were males, resulting in a female to male sex ratio of 1.67:1. Length of females ranged from 245 to 804 mm FL with a mean of 701.1 ± 149.4 mm (n = 15) while males ranged from 590 to 723 mm FL with a mean of 646.0 ± 39.8 mm (n = 9). Males ranged in age from 8 to 12 years with a mean of 10.6 ± 1.66 years (n = 9) while age of females ranged from 2 to 15 years with a mean of 10.7 ± 3.37 years (n = 15). Overall mean age of the catch was 10.7 ± 2.8 years (n = 24).
Mean CPUE for lake whitefish ranged from 7.83 to 11.45 fish/100m2/24h with a total CPUE of 9.55 fish/100 m2/24 h. Of the 310 lake whitefish sampled, 65.5% were females and 34.5% were males, resulting in a female to male sex ratio of 1.9:1. Length of females ranged from 287 to 577 mm FL with a mean of 453.1 ± 40.3 (n = 203) while males ranged from 290 to 530 mm FL with a mean of 434.6 ± 46.2 mm (n = 107). Males ranged in age from 3 to 15 years with a mean of 9.7 ± 3.19 years (n = 60) while age of females ranged from 3 to 16 years with a mean of 10.7 ± 2.71 years (n = 96). Overall mean age of the catch was 10.3 ± 2.94 years (n = 156).
Mean CPUE for yellow perch ranged from 0.07 to 0.94 fish/100m2/24h with a total CPUE of 0.46 fish/100 m2/24 h. Of the 57 yellow perch sampled, 64.3% were females and 35.7% were males, resulting in a female to male sex ratio of 1.80:1. Length of females ranged from 130 to 178 mm FL with a mean of 156.7 ± 15.9 mm (n = 9) while males ranged from 144 to 167 mm FL with a mean of 153.6 ± 8.62 mm (n = 5). Males ranged in age from 4 to 7 years with a mean of 5.2 ± 1.10 years (n = 5) while age of females ranged from 4 to 6 years with a mean of 4.9 ± 0.60 years (n = 9). Overall mean age of the catch was 5.1 ± 0.90 years (n = 15).
The results of the present study provide important baseline information that can be used by resource managers to quantify the effects of anticipated increases in angling pressure on sport fish population in Vandersteene Lake.