CRUA - Bow River Basin and River Access Update

[fishteck]

New and Upgraded Calgary Boat Ramps open in 2020. Also follow discussions on water and fishery management. 

https://www.calgaryriverusers.org/newsletter-march-2020/

 

[Birdo]

Cool news! Still wanna float the nw section down through the city!!

[Jayhad]

Cool,

can't wait to utilize the new launches.  it would be great if we could access the launch just upstream of the peace bridge on the south side.  It would allow for really sweet night floats lit by the city 

[monger]

This is quite the leap without any evidence:

period of 2003 to 2013. Although the cause/effect for the decline was not determined, it was suggested that angling effort could well be the major contributor to the decline.

Really??? Angling is THE MAJOR contributor to population decline. Do we know who made this suggestion? Was it the author of the paper that summarized all the bad science from the past?

[fishteck]

Monger:

The statement "Although the cause/effect for the decline (in rainbow trout) was not determined, it suggested that angling effort could well be the major contributor to the decline" is in my mind accurate! The 2003 to 2013 data analysis did not pinpoint the cause of the trout population decline or the primary corrective action that should be taken. Even to suggest that angling effort could well be the major contributor in the decline is purely speculative considering the data set available to the investigators. 

There are more than 15 potential causes sighted in the CRUA document for the Bow River trout decline, therefore singling out just one, angling effort would appear to be questionable. You may consider the reference material in the document "bad science" but the reality is that surveys conducted over a short period of time cannot account for all the variables in the data set. Alternatively, a standardized scientific design that would give more validity is next to impossible to achieve with field evaluations and surveys. Many researchers have spent a career trying to prove an hypothesis and never achieved it. Therefore trying pinpoint the principal causes of the trout decline will be difficult. The most we can expect is to narrow the field of possibilities down to just a few. And I am in agreement with you that angling effort may well be at the top or close to the top.

Wastewater discharge into the Bow River has improved considerably over the past 20 years. Fish habitat and invertebrate life has seen a change. Hydrology and environmental shifts have taken place that could well have had an impact on fish survival. And all the time angling pressure has increased. At what time did angling pressure out rank other impacts would be hard to define. But I believe we have passed it. Therefore, most of us would say that action is needed on the part of fishery managers to stop the trout population decline. Whatever changes are made to enhance the fishery will need to be based on the information that is currently available. Hiding behind "more research is needed" to make a decision is foolhardy. Adjustments to policy can always be made in the future if deemed appropriate.

The decision to reduce angling pressure is more of a political decision than logical thinking. So, what fishery management change will we see is anyone’s guess!

And thanks for the dialogue.

 

[monger]

I appreciate that the government has recently shown far greater interest in the Bow river trout population. The river has been ignored for a long time because it just seemed to look after itself and we were blessed with awesome fishing for decades. I understand the complexity of the problem and the difficulty of narrowing down a short list of the most powerful factors putting pressure on the trout population. I just wanted to clarify that I have trouble going along with the suggestion the angling is THE MAJOR contributor to the population decline. For me, I have a feeling that it has more to do with the environment/water quality/habitat/disease than the number of hooks in the water. In the short term, it would seem prudent to try and do something in an area we can actually control.....angling. It would make sense that any help we can offer to the river would be wise. I guess time will tell if the trout populations will bounce back. I have seen significant fluctuations in the condition factors of the trout in the past, both rising and falling, since the 1970's. There have been years that produced huge fish even while the nutrient input from the sewage plants was decreasing with technological advancements. There are so many pieces to this puzzle. 

On a positive note, the rainbows that I have seen caught in the last month look to be in much better condition than they have been in the last 2 years. There are a few more fish breaking 20" and they are much heavier. Hopefully something good is going on