19TDRPOL807 - Whirling Disease Surveillance Helicopter Support 2018

Project Background

The first detection of whirling disease in Canada was confirmed in Alberta in August 2016, in Johnson Lake, Banff National Park. Since the initial discovery, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) created the Whirling Disease Program to build additional capacity to protect Alberta’s trout fisheries. The department implemented a three-point action plan built around delineation, education and mitigation to address whirling disease in Alberta.

To contribute to delineation and mitigation efforts, the Whirling Disease Program has identified three objectives for the 2018 field surveillance season. All objectives will require varying degrees of helicopter support and include:

Objective 1. Stream Temperature Monitoring
Deploy temperature loggers to establish a stream temperature network in high priority areas of the Eastslopes for use in identifying stream-based growing degree-days for parasite development and times of peak TAM release in Alberta.

Objective 2. Gap & hotspot monitoring using non-lethal samples
Fill knowledge gaps in the distribution of the whirling disease parasite, particularly within sensitive areas (e.g., Westslope Cutthroat Trout habitat) and areas with low salmonid densities (e.g., northern watersheds) using sediment and worm samples. Objective 2 will be met by collecting samples at Objective 1 sites plus additional sampling in northern watersheds.

Objective 3. Fish Population Inventory
Assess the status of fish populations at positive waterbodies through a combination of angler surveys and non-lethal electrofishing surveys to monitor recruitment success.