Fisheries Barriers in Native Trout Drainages

To effectively safeguard against extirpation of native fish species in Alberta, it is essential to protect native trout populations from hybridization and competition with invasive trout species. In Alberta, several sub-populations of native trout remain protected from invasive species primarily because of waterfalls that impede upstream fish movement. Maintaining and isolating these populations from invasion is critical to the protection and persistence of native trout. Cataloguing waterfalls is a necessary first step in determining where invasion can be managed, 2 allowing for prioritization of population recovery and development of implementation strategies on a stream by stream basis. To determine where native trout refuge might still exist, we gathered fish habitat and community data for the Narraway River watershed and identified 110 potential fish barrier locations. We completed field assessments at 75 of the 110 potential barriers during high flow conditions (spring spawning conditions) but were unable to complete low flow assessments due to unseasonably high flow conditions. Low flow assessments will be completed in fall of 2020.

Partnerships

Alberta Environment and Parks, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Annual Summaries

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