Welcome to Week CCXIX of ‘Fishing Parkland Shorelines’. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I’ll attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don’t have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
The potential damage to Saskatchewan waterways, and the native species which reside there, are very real when talking about the potential impact of invasive species.
The likelihood of some of the currently worrisome species to find their way to the province sadly seem inevitable, a case of when far more than if.
But that does n to mean we should not undertake efforts to limit the chances for their arrival by our activities as fisherfolk.
Recently the provincial government unveiled its plan to install new highways signs reminding anglers and boaters travelling to and from Saskatchewan lakes to ‘Clean, Drain and Dry’ their watercraft to help protect provincial waterbodies from the threat of aquatic invasive species.
“Invasive species have the potential to severely impact our environment,” Highways and Infrastructure Minister Nancy Heppner said in a recent prepared release. “Prevention through education, such as these signs, is a cost-effective way to help control any potential spread.”
The signs have been erected along key interprovincial routes to target watercraft owners coming into the province from southern and eastern jurisdictions where these invasive species are prevalent.
Their message is straight forward reading: Stop Aquatic Invasive Species – Clean+Drain+Dry YOUR BOAT.
“Our government’s focus includes increased watercraft inspections, decontaminating high-risk watercraft found entering the province and additional education and awareness efforts such as this signage to help protect our fish populations and aquatic habitats,” Environment Minister Herb Cox said in the same release.
Waterfowl news
Next stop, some good news about ducks.
“Ducks and other waterfowl faced a few abnormalities this breeding season. They returned to extremely dry conditions across much of the Canadian Prairies thanks to a warm and dry winter and little rainfall throughout the early part of May. This pushed many birds farther north to the boreal forest in search of nesting grounds,” relatedwww.ducks.ca
But the numbers still look good.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released its 2016 Waterfowl Population Status report. Its findings are based on surveys conducted in May and early June by FWS and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Estimates for 2016 come in at 48.4 million breeding ducks compared to 49.5 million last year.
Sounds like a lot of birds, right? It is. Last year’s numbers were an all-time high, surpassing the survey record posted just a year prior in 2014,” stated the article.
“The report is a good reminder that we need strong habitat all across the country, because where and when it’s wet changes every year,” said Dr. Dave Howerter, DUC’s director of conservation science in the story. “Conservation is the glue that holds together nature’s time-tested formula: abundant habitat plus water equals ducks. For example, without conservation work that protects important habitat in the boreal forest, this area may have been less able to support the amazing abundance we’re seeing again this year.”
In another twist, birds that did stick around the Prairies experienced a deluge of water in June and July as heavy rain filled ponds and potholes, stated the article, something we are certainly familiar with locally.
While not reflected in the report, these changing conditions likely helped late-nesting species, and encouraged re-nesting for mallards. It’s also likely that these conditions improved duckling survival. However, the rains probably came too late for many of these birds, it noted.
The report shows that many popular species including mallards, teals, American wigeon and redheads have all experienced long-term population increases. However, populations of pintails have dipped below their long-term average.
“The data from this report is extremely valuable for conservation planning,” continues Howerter in the article. “Understanding how birds are responding to the conditions around them gives us the intel we need to best support these landscapes.”
The full report, with population data and a species-by-species breakdown, can be found on ducks.org
