Threats to East Slopes Native Fish

[PeterSL]

Received today a recently published article  "Threats to at-risk salmonids of the Canadian Rocky Mountain region" by R. Niloshini Sinnatamby | Ariane Cantin | John R. Post  that reinforces the need for urgent action on a North Central Native Trout Recovery Plan.  Believe this may be something you might want to reference if you're providing input to Fisheries Management at the open houses or online on its management plan for the future. The abstract is as follows and the full article is attached:

"Trout and charr, members of the salmonid family, have high conservation value but are also susceptible to anthropogenic threats in part due to the specificity of their habitat requirements. Understanding historical and future threats facing these species is necessary to promote their recovery. Of freshwater trout and charr in thCanadian Rocky Mountain region, westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkiilewisi), bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus; a charr species) and Athabasca rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss) are of conservation concern. And indeed, range contractionsand declining populations are evident throughout much of their ranges. Range contraction was most evident in the southern Alberta designatable unit (DU) of west-slope cutthroat trout. Diminished populations were also evident in the downstream watersheds of the Alberta bull trout range, and throughout the Athabasca rainbow trout range. We assessed historical and future threats to evaluate the relative importance of individual threats to each DU and compare their impact among species.

Individual threats fall into the broad categories of angling, non-native species and genes, habitat loss and alteration, and climate change. Severity of each threat varied by DU and reflects the interaction between species’ biology and the location of the DU. Severity of threats facing each DU has changed over time, reflecting extirpation of native populations, changes in management and industry best practices, expansion of non-native species and progressing climate change. The overall threat impact for each DU indicates a high probability of substantial and continuing declines and calls for immediate action." (bolding mine)

 

Sinnatamby et al 2019 EFF.pdf