'Substantial gaps' in research on Whitehorse dam impacts on fish, DFO says

There are "substantial gaps" in research into how the Whitehorse dam is affecting not just salmon but also other fish species, according to a new letter from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) regarding Yukon Energy's proposal to relicense the facility for another 25 years. 

The letter, which the federal department submitted to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), states those gaps in research impede a scrupulous review of the project. It says the full impact of the hydroelectric dam is "unknown."

"Although the proponent did provide fish and habitat information, there are gaps in baseline aquatic information provided," states DFO, a decision body in the project assessment.

"Without this baseline information, DFO is unable to understand the full effects of the continued operation of [the dam] on fish and fish habitat."

Yukon Energy's current operating licence for the dam expires next May.

This is the first time the facility, built in 1958, is undergoing a review by the assessment board. Crucial for many people is how to protect chinook salmon and other fish like grayling and Northern pike.

The letter from DFO states the cumulative impacts of the dam in relation to the precipitous decline of Yukon River chinook salmon need to be considered by the board, along with whether a 25-year licence renewal would be appropriate.

Some citizens of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation have written to the assessment board, saying that that time frame is too long, whereas a 10-year licence period, for instance, would ensure more studies into the dam's impacts.

The information DFO is seeking includes information on fish that are killed when they pass through the dam, stranding risks downstream and upstream, and whether the Whitehorse fish ladder is effective. The department also wants the Lewes control structure, which is ancillary to the dam and regulates water flow downstream to Whitehorse and beyond, to be assessed to determine just how well fish can pass through it.

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for Yukon Energy said the company is confident in the research it's collected so far, adding that it thought the information DFO was looking for was expected at a later date.

"Yukon Energy is clarifying with DFO what information would be helpful to them, and when," wrote Lisa Wiklund. 

"We know that protecting fish and fish habitat is important to DFO. They helped design the current fish ladder at the dam ... When the fourth turbine was added in 1984, it was DFO that required the Whitehorse fish hatchery be built and operated."

Prompted by the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, the Ta'an Kwach'an Council and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, the company has bankrolled a study into how the dam could be killing juvenile chinook salmon at potentially high rates. Yukon Energy has also said it plans to improve the fish ladder and figure out a way to steer fish away from the turbines.

Al von Finster, a local fish biologist, says Yukon Energy has long focused on salmon over other species. DFO's recognition of this is a positive, he said, because a healthy ecosystem is at stake.