New study looking at impacts of industry on lake sturgeon in northern Ontario

A new study is looking at how hydro dams and other industry affect lake sturgeon in northern Ontario river systems.

The study is part of a long-term partnership between Moose Cree First Nation and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. The study focuses on sturgeon in the North French River, which empties into the Moose River south of Moose Factory Island, before flowing into James Bay.

The North French River is known as an intact river, meaning it has not been altered by industry or hydroelectric dams like other river systems have.

"These rivers are super rare globally and also very important to the people that use the river in the Moose Cree homeland," said Claire Farrell, science and youth co-ordinator with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, and lead author of the study.

Sturgeon, also known as "namew" in Moose Cree, are endangered in most other parts of the world, but populations have been relatively stable in northern Ontario. Farrell said the main question of the study was to see how the species move around and behave in an intact, unaltered river system with a healthy population.

To conduct the study, researchers tracked 22 adult sturgeon over a six year period using non-invasive tags put into the stomachs of the fish and acoustic receivers in the river that would ping a sturgeon's location. The practice is known as acoustic telemetry.

"Some of the tags tell us how fast they were moving or how deep in the water they were at that time," Farrell explained.

"And the tag also tells us which fish that was because it has a unique identifier."

While work is on-going, the study found the sturgeon were using the whole river system during different seasons in the 45 kilometre area of study, which is a good indicator since the fish are known to be migratory species. 

"And then the other finding is really just emphasizing the importance that lake sturgeon are thriving and moving in an intact system," said Farrell.

"So that really emphasizes the conservation importance of areas like this in the north."

Farrell said they will compare the results of their findings in the North French River with those of another study they're conducting with Moose Cree First Nation in the Mattagami River, which is a more hydro-electrically dammed river.

She said comparing the results will lead them to "asking important questions and doing important things like how are namew doing in these two comparative and very different rivers? How are dams impacting their health? How can we make and advocate for changes in dam operations to help protect namew in the whole homeland, not just in an intact river, but all over the place?"

Farrell said she hopes the findings of the paper will make people stop and reconsider the importance of remote, northern areas and the positive impact intact river systems have on conservation, before moving ahead with building dams and other industry.