Alberta Sustainable Resource Development has opened a salvage fishery at the Berry Creek Reservoir in hopes of harvesting the fish before winter.
A floodgate on the dam of the reservoir has malfunctioned and the water level may be too low to allow the fish to survive over winter. They hope to harvest the populations that could be lost over the winter.
Carrie Sancartier, spokesperson for Alberta Sustainable Resources Development explains the dam was built in the mid-1960s and following a review, it was found that it needed rehabilitation to meet today’s safety standards. Work on the dam took place through the summer.
In mid to late September however, one of the gates was discovered to be malfunctioning.
“It was stuck in an open position and letting water escape,” said Sancartier.
She explains attempts to either close the gate or curb the water flow were unsuccessful. They opted to build a coffer dam to slow down the water flowing through, allowing the workers to access the gate to make the fix.
“The issue was underwater,” said Sancartier.
Even with the coffer dam in place they are still concerned about the fish.
“Our scientists were concerned there would not be enough oxygen for the fish to survive the winter so we put the salvage fishery in place,” said Sancartier.
Species in the reservoir include Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Walleye, Longnose Sucker, White Sucker and Minnow.
Drumheller–Stettler MLA Rick Strankman lashed out at the Alberta government for what he sees as mismanagement, which caused the problems in the first place and he questioned the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Diana McQueen durung question period on October 23.
“Mismanagement from this PC government is negatively impacting the economic viability of farmers in this area and is putting our environment at risk,” Strankman said. “The gateway at the Berry Creek Reservoir needs to be a priority, so we can clean up the area, ensure the safety of the workers on site, and prevent an incident like this happening in the future.”
He says the situation is leaving farm land at risk and the department has failed to take the advise of the operators of the dam who take care of day to day maintenance.
Sancartier said the department is working with other parties to develop a plan to manage the reservoir next year.
“We don’t know what the effects will be, our concern right now is closing the gate. We are taking measurements at the same time to gain a full understanding of what the impacts might be,” she said.
Those wishing to take advantage of the salvage fishery at the Berry Creek Reservoir can purchase a license at any Fish and Wildlife Office in Alberta. The fishery is open October 23 to November 23. Licenses are available to all residents of Canada and are only $5.
For more information go to www.mywildalberta.com.