ACTIVITIES ARCHIVES

News of the River

"all of the river news all of the time"

March 2000 to November 2000

FOGR's Annual Spawning Survey

FOGR's Annual Spawning Survey was held on November 12,2000. We had chosen Sunday the 12th November, 2000 as the deer hunting season had ended by then, as well as the vast majority of spawning. No trout were seen on redds by any volunteers. Water conditions were ideal (discharge 3.5 m3/s; good clarity) and winds were minimal, so that even without a lot of direct sunlight (it was cold and cloudy) redds could be spotted by volunteer crews.

Two training sessions were held, one prior to each shift, to familiarize volunteers with the appearance of both redds and testing areas, and how to distinguish between them. In addition, in all crews, at least one volunteer had prior experience with redd counts. In this way, data quality was assured.

The crews also were instructed to note on the maps evidence of habitat destruction by Argo-type all-terrain vehicles that are being employed by deer hunters during the shotgun season. We have previously asked OMNR and GRCA to ensure that the Federal Fisheries Act is enforced to end the destruction of redds and disturbance of spawning trout by users of these machines. The Argo users employ the river as a highway, not just crossing spawning riffles, but driving up and down river to access hunting areas. This year, redd survey volunteers noted a marked increase in Argo traffic, with tracks visible in many riffle areas all the way from Zuber's Corners (Regional Road 86) to the lower boundary of the Elora Gorge Conservation Area. Again, the greatest incidence of Argo traffic is in one of the most prolific areas for spawning: from below the mouth of Swan Creek to the GRCA trailer park above Musselman's farm. We ask that a plan be in place for the 2001 deer hunting season to end these violations of the Federal Fisheries Act.

As for volunteers(36) we had a great turn-out for both the 9:30-12:00 shift and 1:00- 4:00 shift. We were pleased to have volunteers turn out from the Hamilton Area Fly Fishers Club. Other volunteers included students working on the FOGR P&E grant at WLU and Niagara College. We hope that even more groups will participate in future.

9:30 -12:00 (Shand Dam to Elora)

Total upper river 260 redds

1:00-4:00 (low level bridge to Zubers Corner)

Total lower river 196 redds

Pilot Insurance's Charity Balloon Ride Raises Money for FOGR

September 21, 2000

Representatives of the Elora office of the Precept Group of insurance brokers and from Pilot Insurance Company, met with FOGR President Larry McGratton to present a cheque for $500 to aid our local conservation efforts.

Representatives of the precept group and pilot insurance present a cheque to larry mcgratton to aid in fogr conservation work.(click on image to view full size)	Look Dad, we're raising money for Friends of the Grand!(click on image to view full size)

FOGR also is the recipient of donations raised from Pilot Insurance's Charity Balloon Ride -- an added attraction in Elora's Bissel Park
during the International Plowing Match on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (19-21 Sept.). Rides in the Pilot Insurance tethered
hot-air balloon between 9-11 am and 6-8 pm raise $2/person in suggested donation to FOGR.

Friends Spread the Conservation Word at the International Plowing Match

Sept. 18, 2000

FOGR is represented at the "Partners in Conservation" tent at the International Plowing Match in Elora this week. We share a booth with the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence, Friends of Carroll Creek, and Ontario Streams. Here, FOGR members Doug Ratz and Lorraine Norminton flank the new FOGR access sign. These signs will be installed at popular public access points along the upper Grand River this autumn by FOGR, thanks to a $5000 grant from Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources.

FOGR members Doug Ratz and Lorraine Norminton flank the new FOGR access sign. These signs will be installed at popular public access points along the upper Grand River (click on image for full size)

FOGR Founding Director Doug Ratz Receives Conservation Award

June 26, 2000

Doug Ratz is a founding, and long-standing, Director of Friends of the Grand River. Since the founding of the organization, Doug has worked tirelessly on many projects and fostered important partnerships between FOGR and other conservation groups. Each year, through his affiliation with the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence, he has organized annual tree planting projects that brought together FOGR members, ECEE members, the GRCA, as well as local high school students and Cubs and Scouts to plant thousands of trees along the upper Grand River and its tributaries. This service to conservation, along with Doug's many other contributions, led the board of FOGR to nominate Doug Ratz for the Bruce Buckland Award. FOGR Secretary John Dadds chronicled Doug's contributions and sought supporting letters from partner organizations to support the nomination.

FOGR Founding Director Doug Ratz Receives Conservation Award -- 11 April, 2000. L to R: Bruce Buckland (OMNR, ret.), Doug Ratz (FOGR), and Bill Thompson (KW Record).

The Bruce Buckland Award is an annual award to recognize life-long contributions to conservation. It is named after a retired Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation Officer, and is administrated by the Kitchener-Waterloo Record Newspaper. The award is presented in the spring, at the annual dinner of the Ruffed Grouse Society.

Doug was very pleased, and more than a bit surprised, to learn that he had won the award! On hand to celebrate the occasion were Doug's wife Gwelda, and his children, as well as several representatives from the FOGR board. Doug has stepped down from the FOGR board, to spend more time with his family. Thanks for your many years of service, Doug, and congratulations!

Grand Opportunities Forum 2000

June 13, 2000

The Grand Opportunities Forum was great fun this year as in past years. We had beautiful weather and a really good turnout for the seminars on the river. In the auction, equipment swap and silent auction almost 3000$ was cleared for our projects. Thanks to all who helped and those who came to play!

The lunch BBQ was a popular venue as well. It was manned by Friends of the Grand River volunteers who grilled burgers and fried onions in this conservation fund-raiser. Thanks to all the overheated volunteers and hungry forum attendees! In the foreground, another $10 ticket is sold on the SAGE rod raffle.
Al Newsome (left), winner of the FOGR rod raffle, beams as he is congratulated by Bob McKenzie (centre), representing SAGE, who donated the SAGE XP pack rod, and Larry McGratton (right), President of FOGR. Rod Raffle 2000 raised $2500 for FOGR's research programme on Brown Trout spawning in the Grand River.	Keen hatch matchers crowd around to peer at insects collected for the River Entomology workshop given by Ian Martin. This was but one of the 14 seminar/workshop events, all of which were very popular.

	FOGR President Larry McGratton (right) presents a framed, limited-edition print of the Grand River map by artist Al Hassall to Bob McKenzie, Canadian Sage Representative, in thanks for his support of Friends of the Grand River's fund-raising Rod Raffle 2000. Thanks Bob!

Flooding Finally Finished

May 29, 2000

After three weeks of rain the Grand River is finally starting to come down to normal flows. The River peaked at 300 m3/sec in early May but has been running at more than 10 m3/sec for almost the whole month.This is compared to normal flow rates of 3 to 6 m3/sec. The river has been so high that kayak races scheduled for the Elora Gorge did not require any additional releases from the Shand Dam. In two weeks in May more water came into Belwood Lake than the total for 1999.

The flows were a big suprise to everyone since it was supposed to be another low water year. Water in Belwood Lake was actively being conserved by the GRCA to augment anticipated low summer flow and to compensate for the failure of the dam on the Conestoga River.

Though thunderstorms will increase flow throughout the summer and the Shand Dam gates will be opened occasionally for maintenance and repair regular flows on the river of between 3 and 6 m3/sec should be the rule for the rest of the summer. Up to the minute water flows can be obtained by by calling the GRCA at (519) 621-2763.

There is a great story and pictures of the "Flood of 2000" from May. Click here to see it.

Friends Research and Stream Remediation Projects Receive Funding

May 16, 2000

The Friends of the Grand River has received funding for two projects under the Community Fisheries and Wildlife Incentive Plan (CFWIP). In the first project the CFWIP grant is for log jam removal at bottom end of Swan Creek. Funding received was approximately $1,100. The work days and details for this project are in the newsletter. In summary, those interested in cleaning up a lovely little stream will meet June 9 &10 at 8:30 a.m. at Blondie's Lunch which is across from the FOGR access parking lot in Inverhaugh. Please contact Terry Ryckman (519) 843-3806 for details.

A CFWIP grant of $2,100 for purchase of temperature dataloggers. These small computers will be used to store data from our ongoing water quality monitoring program. This project is being run by Ian Martin as part of the overall strategy of Friends to improve spawning success and survival of trout and to monitor our own Heritage River.

Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Fish!

June 6, 2000

A band of severe thunderstorms crossed the upper Grand River drainage during the evening of Friday, 12 May, causing large inflows to the Belwood Reservoir. The lake was already mostly full of water needed for summer flow augmentation downstream, so much of the incoming water had to be passed right through the dam. Flows reached nearly 300 m3/s on Saturday afternoon, in comparison to normal seasonal flows of 3 to 5 m3/s seen only a day earlier. Needless to say, no-one was fishing, but a lot of local residents were touring the river taking in the spectacle, and a few unfortunates were moving belongings to higher ground as the river flooded homes and stores in low lying areas. By Sunday afternoon, flows had dropped to less than half the peak flow, though the river was still in full flood. Normal flows should resume once the inflows to the reservoir have dropped to regular amounts.

A beleaguered willow tree weathers the flood: Saturday, near the time of peak flow, and Sunday, after flows had reduced by more than half and finally normal flows. (click on images for full size). Ian Martin, photos.

Normal fishing levels have finally returned as can be seen in the third photo.

Fish Stocking 2000

May 12, 2000

By Ian Martin

Monday, 01 May was the first of two days for the annual stocking of the Grand River Tailwater Fishery with Brown Trout supplied by Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources. About 25 volunteers turned up to meet the hatchery truck in the Zehr's parking lot in Fergus. There, the truck's load of 20,000 fish was divided amongst satellite stocking trucks equipped with insulated tanks. FOGR purchased its own new stocking tank last autumn so that the fish would not be stressed during the transfer and transport to the river sites. FOGR also owes a debt of thanks to Fergus Welding Ltd., which supplied the oxygen tanks to bubble through the transfer tanks.

Cool, drizzly weather was ideal for the fish, if not for the volunteers, but despite the miserable weather, the crews carefully released the trout into pre-selected areas between the Shand Dam and Westmontrose.

On the next day, another 10,700 fish arrived, and were again stocked up and down the river, though with only one additional transfer tank and vehicle and a smaller -- but much appreciated! -- crew of about 10 volunteers. Thanks to all who showed up for a fun and productive day, which was the biggest spring stocking day to date on the Grand!

Transferring Brown Trout from the hatchery tank truck to FOGR's new blue insulated stocking tank. Many hands make light work!

Attention anglers, boaters and cottagers!

Received from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH):

After the requests of many lake associations, marinas, and angling clubs we have finally produced boat launch signs which list the steps which water users must take to slow the spread of invading species such as zebra mussels, round gobies and spiny water flea.

These durable, metal signs (12"x18") are now available from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters for a cost of $12 each (includes tax andshipping).

You can check out the layout of these signs at http://www.ofah.org/ofah.htm

To ensure early arrival of the signs, order signs for your lake today! To order call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, the O.F.A.H. mainline at 705-748-6324, or email us at invading_species@ofah.org.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours in Conservation,

Francine MacDonald
Invading Species Biologist
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
P.O. Box 2800
Peterborough, Ontario
K9J 8L5
tel: (705)-748-6324
fax: (705) 748-9577
email: invading_species@ofah.org

The above is provided strictly as information from the OFAH. But we sure don't want zebra mussels in the Grand River and we support anyone or any organization trying to keep them out. Cheers, Bruce.

Great Lakes Invaders

(The following articles were written for The Fishing News by John Dadds)

"They were found in the Detroit River in 1993," said Lynda Corkum, a biologist at the University of Windsor." Within the year, gobies were distributed around the Great Lake, probably transported by ship.

Corkum's initial work found a disparity between the size of the fish found here and those in Europe, but as the years pass, the differences are evening out. "We're finding larger round gobies now. We were getting them at seven to 10 centimetres (three to four inches)," she said. "Now there are reports of gobies up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) although the largest I've collected is 19 centimetres (7.5 inches)."

While European gobies will mature at 27 months, the Great Lakes relatives are reaching maturity at 14 months. This is one reason why they have been so successful in establishing a foothold in North America. "It's quite common for colonizing organisms to mature at a younger age," said Corkum.

On top of earlier maturity, add an abundance of food — they thrive on zebra mussels — and the fact that they reproduce several times through the course of the year. The male vigorously defends the nest, so reproduction rates are high.

Corkum's current work involves gathering information on population densities. Timed trawls are the usual method of counting fish. But gobies favour a rocky river or lake bottom. Trawls are only really successful on flat substrate.

Trawls on Lake Erie conducted in 1997 by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) picked up four gobies an hour. Two years later, in 1999, the tally stood at 144 an hour. However, when a net is damaged, that specific operation is not included in the totals. One 1999 trawl was not counted because of damage caused by a rocky structure, yet the net contained 1,500 gobies.

Scuba divers worked with Corkum and MNR researchers in the struggle to find a way of reliably counting these fish. Local scuba club members dive in teams of three, sit on the bottom and count every goby they can see in their field of view. When enough counts are done, a picture of density develops. Not perfect, but a step forward.

Corkum said it's important to discover how this exotic species affects the whole food web. Because their diet mainly consists of zebra mussels, they are consuming contaminated food. Gobies are becoming a favourite snack for game fish like bass, so the contaminants move up the food chain. Humans eat the bass, and…well, you get the picture.

Corkum stresses that volunteers play an important role in this research. If anglers find an oddity like the goby in a place where it has never been found before, Corkum urges them to preserve the fish and report the find. "If they see something that's different, then it probably is different. Their comments or phone calls are important."

Invasional Meltdown

The Great Lakes is the crucible for invasional meltdown in the coming decades and according to Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, researcher Anthony Ricciardi, this problem is as serious as climate change.

Exotic invaders are being shipped around the world in large numbers. "At any one time we have 3,000 species moving around the world in ships' ballast tanks." Ricciardi said. "This is causing the accelerated rate of invasion."

Coined by two University of Tennessee scientists for land animals, the meltdown theory flies in the face of accepted ecosystem assumptions. Current thought is that niches open for invading species or the lack of a niche will ensure they fail to survive. With a meltdown, the sheer number of organisms that evolved together weighs in favour of the next new arrival.

Zebra mussels were one of the first newcomers from the Black Sea area. A decade later, the round goby is pumped out of a ballast tank near Detroit and finds his favourite food everywhere. He dines almost exclusively on zebra mussels. Thus one species sets the scene for the next. "We're selecting for them," says Ricciardi. "And ballast-water exchange does not keep them out."

Examples keep showing up, despite requirements to exchange ballast water at sea. Freighters need water ballast to keep them stable when not fully laden. Ships heading to Canadian ports pump out their ballast tanks in the middle of the ocean and fill the tanks with salt water. When they filled up with fresh or brackish water in their last port of call, they probably picked up many native organisms. These stowaways are flushed out, and the theory is that mid-ocean saltwater will kill off any that remain. Unfortunately, 5 per cent of the ballast water is left behind because of the ships' design, and there's a thick sediment loaded with early life forms such as larvae which survive two weeks in salt water.

The round goby is fast taking over in-shore habitat in the lower Great Lakes They came over since the regulations were put in place. Likewise, a tiny crustacean called the fish hook water flea, which clogs fishing lines and downrigger cables, was discovered in 1998.

The tally of invaders is up to a conservative 145 now. Popular public opinion has concentrated on the zebra mussel, which is a nuisance, or the goby, which is an inconvenience to anglers. But the rate at which new species are colonizing the Great Lakes is being ignored. The aquatic ecosystem of the Great Lakes will soon mirror the Black Sea when aggressive more invaders find conditions to their liking and the same ecosystem and predator/prey relationships they were brought up with.

"The Black Sea is a workshop for invaders. It has a tumultuous history of geological change," says Ricciardi. "They've adapted to colonizing disturbed regions and capitalize on the major [transportation routes]."

Ricciardia predicted the next intruder will be most potentially troubling. Corophium curvispinum is an amphipod that loves mussels beds for their protection and abundance of food. It generates a layer of thick muck which suffocates native bottom dwellers, even some zebra mussels.

How's Your Gonads?

Testosterone may get guys out fishing, but a female hormone, estrogen, could be effectively neutering the fish they're after.

Chris Metcalfe, a professor with the Environmental and Resource Studies Programme at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, is collaborating with colleagues in the U.K. to check out the effects of estrogens getting into waterways through sewage plants.

Estrogens are naturally secreted by women during urination, especially if they are taking birth-control medications or using estrogen replacement therapy to counter the effects of menopause. Estrogen concentrations of one part per trillion can cause hermaphrodization in fish.

Asked to explain the concept of one part in a trillion, Metcalfe said it's 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from Peterborough to New York city; take a single one-millimetre (one twenty-fifth of an inch) step in that direction and you've gone one-trillionth of the way.

Hermaphrodization blurs the distinction between the sexes. "Males have testes and ovaries in the same gonads," said Metcalfe. "These fish are not naturally hermaphroditic, and it appears to be chemically induced." Surfactants — nonylphenols — used in many household cleaners, paints and plastics have similar estrogenic effects. "That could be part of the problem," he said.

Hermaphrodite fish have very poor milt (sperm) production, so reproduction rates would be adversely affected. "We've shown it in the lab," Metcalfe said. "And they've shown it in Britain with the roach."

Most of the work has been done in the lab so far. Samples of forage fish, such as bluegills, sunfish, white perch and white bass, were collected from Ontario locations last fall. Fish found near sewage-plant and textile-mill outflows will be examined to look at gonad development.

Fish Can See UV Light

Coppertone is unlikely to solve this sunburn problem. A team at the University of Winnipeg is examining the effects of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation on aquatic organisms, from algae to invertebrates to fish.

Team member Dr. Donna Young decided to check part way up the food chain by looking at a native Manitoba fish. She used brook sticklebacks because they adapt to aquarium life. Fish tanks were lit on a regular night-day cycle, and an extra bank of lights provided UV-B radiation. "We need to mimic something that's reasonably close to what these organisms experience in the environment," she said.

Sticklebacks died within a couple of weeks when exposed to a dose of UV-B that would simulate those beautifully clear Manitoba days in July. Many fish became sunburned. Their skin reddened, and that seemed to open the way for fungal infections. Their actual skin pigmentation wasn't changed.

Humans can't see UV light. We lay out in the sun to get our rays because we know they're there. It seems fish have colour-sensitive receptors in their eyes that will detect UV light. Bright light they didn't avoid, but when UV was turned on, they knew to hustle up to the other end of the tank to avoid it. Although they would move laterally, they wouldn't go deep to get away from the light.

Daphnia — microscopic zooplankton — also suffered negative effects, as did fish embryos. Daphnia is a prime food for juvenile and small fish, and it goes deep to avoid UV-B.

Global warming and changing ozone levels will alter levels of UV light penetrating the atmosphere. Checking sticklebacks for sunburn is one more way to help us assess the impact of climate change, and how it will affect us. With the fish searching for shade, and their food going deep, there could be potential breaks in the food chain.

Thanks for the news John! If anyone within Friends of the Grand has interesting material to post send it on. I am always ready to post a good story.

Thanks,

Bruce Wainman, aka "that guy who does the web stuf"

AFP Wealth Management Increases Improves FOGR's Finances!

April 2, 2000

by Ian Martin

In September, 1999, Michael Townshend of AFP Wealth Management of Waterloo, Ont., organized a day of fly fishing for clients on the Grand River, with the assistance of Grand River Troutfitters in Fergus. The day was set up as a fund raising event, and Friends of the Grand River was chosen as the beneficiary of the proceeds. Seven teams of anglers, set up with local anglers and guides, enjoyed a friendly competition of catch-and-release fly fishing. AFP clients, and the guides, shared food, fellowship, prizes, and some memorable moments astream on the Grand River tailwater fishery. The event resulted in the most welcome donation of $3070 at the end of the day, and another $2500 in February, 2000 to Friends of the Grand River!

Michael Townshend, of AFP Wealth Management (left) is presented with a framed limited edition print of the Grand River map by FOGR President Larry McGratton.

President Larry McGratton recently met with Michael Townshend at his Waterloo office to present him with a framed, limited edition print of the Grand River map by noted artist Al Hassall in recognition of his wonderful effort in fund raising for Friends of the Grand River.

Thanks Mike!

Friends of the Grand Hold Annual General Meeting

March 29, 2000

by Bruce Wainman

The AGM of the the Friends gave the members a great chance to catch up with each other, plan for this coming year and discuss the many successful projects completed this past year. One of the highlights was the appointment of the first batch of Fish and Wildlife Guardians. Brad Gerrie from the OMNR was on hand to present the guardians with their hats and vests. Brad reminded us all that the Guardian program, which is spreading across the whole province, arose from the FOGR River Watch.

Our first batch of Guardians were presented with their uniforms by Brad Gerrie, District Enforcement Supervisor, OMNR. Our guardians are Larry McGratton, first available number (002) in the Fish &Wildlife Guardian Programme, Ken Collins, southern Ontario Master Guardian trainer, Fraser Hale Jeff Prickett, FOGR F&W Guardian coordinator, Derek Parks, and Doug Ratz.

Friends of the Grand Report Hatching Success

 March 9, 2000

by Bruce Wainman

One of the abiding mysteries of the cold water sections of the Grand River below the Shand Dam is that the fish develop large numbers of eggs and spawn, yet there are no "baby" trout in the population. With a couple of minor exceptions all the trout in the river are stockies. Friends of the Grand River has initiated a study to sort out this question and on the first weekend in March we made a step closer to the answer. A couple of articles on the beginnings of the experiments are available by clicking on "Spawning Recruitment Study: UPDATE" and an earlier article "FOGR Study on Spawning Success"

In December brown trout eggs provide by the OMNR from the Normandale hatchery were placed in Scotty Boxes in the Grand River just below the Shand Dam, between Elora and Fergus and down toward highway 86. The first results of the experiments are now coming in after a big day of work harvesting Scotty Boxes from the river and counting the living and dead eggs and alevin and weighing the accumulated sediments in the boxes.

We were all pretty excited about retrieving the boxes when we met on the last Saturday morning in February. It was a wonderful day to be out- bright and unseasonably warm. About 10 volunteers and several trucks were dispatched to gather the boxes from the frigid but clear and low waters of the river.

The boxes from the upper river were jam packed with silt, caddis larvae and a few dead eggs and fry. Beneath the boxes two perch were found waiting, it seemed, to catch whatever might have come out of the boxes. It was a sad sight to see- it looked like there was no way that the eggs had a chance. A few weeks earlier, these same boxes were full of live eggs. We think that the recent low water has changed flows enough to allow silt to accumulate.

Some of the boxes were in great shape. Notice the boxes were placed near natural spawning areas for the trout.	Some Scotty Boxes were exposed to low water and the eggs died.
Click on the thumbnail images for the full size pictures

In the boxes from the Elora to Fergus section we popped open the boxes to find many live alevins (fry with yolks sacks) still in the boxes and some that slipped out as the boxes were put into pails. There were also a few eggs that had not hatched but, much to our excitement, there were few dead eggs or dead fry. Perhaps a third of all the eggs that we put in the boxes were counted for as live fry or eggs. Back at our makeshift lab we found the boxes were quite full of silt and isopods (sowbugs) in fact there were as many sowbugs as live fry. I was quite surprised that the fry lived in the silt laden boxes- perhaps the sowbugs were good for the eggs and keep the silt moving through the boxes. We had a few disappointing results in the middle river section as well. Some of our boxes had been exposed to the extremely low water and the eggs had died.

Fresh alevin hatched in the Grand River

There were both newly-hatched alevin and live eggs in the boxes

Click on the thumbnail images for the full size pictures

When the crew returned from the lower river, we were not sure what to expect. Water levels had been up and down significantly below Inverhaugh and large ice dams had formed and broken- we felt sure that many of the boxes would be lost. The crews from the lower river searched down the river a long way from where the experiments had been put in and, much to their credit, found some boxes. These boxes had much less silt than the upper river experiments and we even found some fine gravel and sand in the boxes. In a day of surprises we had another- the eggs had just begun to hatch in the cooler, lower river. In general, the eggs and fry were in fine shape even though some had tumbled down the river a long way from where they were put in.

On the Lower Grand we went on a merry chase to find our experiments. You can see by the ice floes that lots of scouring had already occurred.

Much of the results are still being tabulated and analyzed. We are carefully weighing the organic material that was deposited into the Scotty boxes and working the exact rates of egg and fry survival. We are also monitoring the development of all the eggs and fry we found in the boxes. These alevin and eggs were carefully harvested put into our tiny hatchery. The hatchery already has our control population which hatched some months ago in the warmer ground water.

After a lot of work we chatted about our results over pizza. Our most important discovery was that trout eggs could hatch in the Grand River. This suggests many exciting possibilities- perhaps we can just put fertilized eggs in the low silt areas of the Grand rather than stocking larger, and more expensive, fish. It also suggests that problems with the brown trout spawning success may be the quality of the eggs spawned in the river by the native fish or perhaps a combination of water quality and egg quality that leads to spawning failure. We have also shown that an ambitious community organization can carry out quality research.

Keep watching the web pages and we will post our results as they become available. We will be speaking about the experiments at our general meeting later in March. We also have data coming from our partners in this study the GRCA. The GRCA water quality monitoring station just below the Shand Dam will provide us with temperature and other useful measurments. We should be able to figure out why the conditions this year allowed for hatching eggs and how the water quality affected egg development.

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The Friends of the Grand River
P.O. Box 271, Fergus Ontario, N1M 3E2