Aquatic Ecosystem Health
In an effort to better understand the correlation between water levels and temperature and fish spawning in the Rainy Lake system, the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (IRLWWB) need water level, temperature and fish data in the Seine River upstream of Rainy Lake. The data will be used to develop a correlation between the dates of sturgeon spawning obtained from the fish data. The underlying premise of this initiative is that water resources and environmental problems can be anticipated, prevented or resolved at the local level before developing into international issues. This project will help define the spring spawn for Seine River sturgeon through surrogate environmental indicators. This monitoring will respond to requests from the SRFN to look into the impact of dam operation on sturgeon and to repeated requests from the dam owners to demonstrate the effectiveness of a peaking window based on water temperature. 2015 marks the fifth field season of this project.
Complete
DFO, Shooniyaa Wa-Biitoong, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Seine River First Nation