SaskPower, Fishers Save Fish
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 14:52
A team effort between government and fishers has helped save fish in the Tobin Lake region.
Rick West of SaskPower explains the company recently moved more than 1,000 fish from the Tobin Lake spillway back into the lake.
The spillway had been open from April to mid-July.
The move was made to reduce flooding in the region however it caused several fish species to become trapped downstream of the floodway.
West says six fishers from the Cumberland House Fishermen’s co-op stepped in to help.
He explains they netted the fish, and then dropped them into holding tanks where they were eventually trucked over to the lake and released.
West says over 46 sturgeon were saved, including one that weighed 64 pounds.
Meantime, a long-time trapper and fisher from Cumberland House says the effects of this year’s flood are slowly becoming apparent.
John Carriere says a building from one of the outfitter’s camps floated downstream while he estimates he lost 10 to 20 feet of land on his own operation.
Carriere says it will take much longer to see how the wildlife was affected.
Carriere says he feels the government could have done a better job of mitigating the effects of the flood on smaller communities like Cumberland House.
He feels the province’s focus during the flood was mainly on the larger centres.