Catch and release may save thousands of trout

By Scott NeufeldMonday, Sep 25, 2006 Vernon Daily Courier
A decades-old environmental disaster could soon be solved if the Greater Vernon Services Commission approves a proposed fish salvage operation for the Aberdeen plateau.A report from the water department recommends that Greater Vernon Services work with the B.C. Wildlife Federation and the Ministry of Environment to develop a salvage program. The recommendation will be put to a vote at the commission meeting on Thursday.Between 5,000 and 10,000 rainbow trout have been killed every year since a spillway was constructed near Aberdeen Lake around 1920. The spillway feeds water from the lake into local reservoirs. When the water level is lowered fish cannot make it back into the lake and are trapped as the water recedes.Rick Simpson of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, who raised the problem before the commission earlier this month, said the positive recommendation is a major victory. He said that before he made the presentation he was cautioned not to be overly optimistic about the government response.“In my wildest dreams . . . I couldn’t have predicted that,” he said of the recommendation. “It is a problem that has been going on for so long, that I’m overjoyed.”The staff recommendation also proposes that $3,000 be set aside in 2007 to help launch the salvage system with $2,000 being made available each year to volunteer agencies to conduct the operation annually.Simpson said he’s excited that some funding is being proposed because it will help the program get started. He said that if the recommendation is approved there will be a lot of work left before fish can be salvaged.The key will be finding a steady supply of volunteers to salvage the fish each year, Simpson said. They will also have to continue to work with Greater Vernon Water to find out when water levels become hazardously low in the spillway. “We now have got to get down to figuring out the mechanics of how we’re going to do it,” he said. “The logistics can be worked out if we get maybe some students or maybe some retired folks to help out.”Twenty-five years ago, local governments would not have addressed the issue, Simpson said. The fact that it is being considered shows that governments are giving more thought to environmental impacts, he added.“This also signals to me a transition in thinking these days,” he said. “It’s nice to at least see that receptivity.”With the Okanagan looking at integrated watershed management strategies Simpson said it’s important to continue to look at the environmental impact of our water use. As for future projects around the area, he said he doesn’t want to look too far ahead.“Let’s just make this one work before we look at other situations,” he said.