Latest news with #DepartmentofFisheriesandOceans
Hamilton Spectator
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Invasive fish captured in N.S. is first of such species found in Atlantic Canada
NEW GERMANY - Fisheries and Oceans Canada says an invasive type of fish called a pond loach has been found in Nova Scotia, marking the first such finding in Atlantic Canada. A single, egg-bearing, female Oriental Weatherfish, or pond loach, was found in Morgans Falls, near New Germany, N.S., the federal department said in an emailed statement Monday. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the fish species is native to eastern Asia, and that the one captured on April 29 was likely introduced to Nova Scotia after being released from an aquarium. Invasive species, such as the pond loach, are a problem because of the disruption they can cause to habitats and ecosystems. Pond loach can reproduce quickly, and once the fish is established in a new habitat, it may compete with native species for food, or prey on them directly. Releasing any aquatic species into a body of water where it is not native, unless authorized by federal, provincial or territorial law, is illegal under the federal Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations. 'To help prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species, do not let loose any aquatic species into a new body of water, down the drain, or into the sewers,' reads the statement from Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The pond loach is brown or dark green with dark scattered speckles and a light-coloured underside. It has a long, cylindrical, eel-like body, that can measure between 10 and 25 centimetres in length. The fish also has between six and eight barbels, or whiskers, around its mouth. The fish prefer slow-moving, muddy or silty habitats, but the can survive in a range of environmental conditions. The pond loach has also been reported in southern British Columbia, the federal department said, but is not known to occur anywhere else in Canada. The DFO said it has not received any other reports of this species in Nova Scotia, and there are no loach species that are native to the province. If anyone suspects they have seen a pond loach, the DFO is asking them to report it, with pictures, if possible, to its aquatic invasive species division. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025. — By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.
National Observer
26-05-2025
- Science
- National Observer
Invasive fish captured in NS is first of such species found in Atlantic Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says an invasive type of fish called a pond loach has been found in Nova Scotia, marking the first such finding in Atlantic Canada. A single, egg-bearing, female Oriental Weatherfish, or pond loach, was found in Morgans Falls, near New Germany, N.S., the federal department said in an emailed statement Monday. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the fish species is native to eastern Asia, and that the one captured on April 29 was likely introduced to Nova Scotia after being released from an aquarium. Invasive species, such as the pond loach, are a problem because of the disruption they can cause to habitats and ecosystems. Pond loach can reproduce quickly, and once the fish is established in a new habitat, it may compete with native species for food, or prey on them directly. Releasing any aquatic species into a body of water where it is not native, unless authorized by federal, provincial or territorial law, is illegal under the federal Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations. "To help prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species, do not let loose any aquatic species into a new body of water, down the drain, or into the sewers," reads the statement from Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The pond loach is brown or dark green with dark scattered speckles and a light-coloured underside. It has a long, cylindrical, eel-like body, that can measure between 10 and 25 centimetres in length. The fish also has between six and eight barbels, or whiskers, around its mouth. The fish prefer slow-moving, muddy or silty habitats, but the can survive in a range of environmental conditions. The pond loach has also been reported in southern British Columbia, the federal department said, but is not known to occur anywhere else in Canada. The DFO said it has not received any other reports of this species in Nova Scotia, and there are no loach species that are native to the province. If anyone suspects they have seen a pond loach, the DFO is asking them to report it, with pictures, if possible, to its aquatic invasive species division.
Global News
17-05-2025
- General
- Global News
Whale never seen in B.C. waters washes up dead on Vancouver Island beach
A whale, never before seen in B.C. waters, washed up dead on northern Vancouver Island. A man walking his dog on Wednesday morning discovered the dead whale in Port McNeill at the end of the bay in the estuary. 'This is the only Bryde's whale that has ever been seen in British Columbia waters, with all the collective knowledge through First Nations, DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans),' said Jackie Hildering, whale researcher and director of education and communications with the Marine Education and Research Society. She said they first thought it was a minke whale but then a member of the team noticed this whale did not have the diagnostic minke mittens, or white bands on its flippers that distinguishes a minke whale from others. Hildering said Bryde's whales, a member of the baleen whale family, which includes blue whales and humpback whales, have rostral ridges and are known for having three parallel ridges on their upper jaw. Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen A close-up view of the rostral ridges on the Bryde's whale's head. Marine Education & Research Society 'A Bryde's whale has never been seen in B.C. waters,' she added. 'The closest has been in Puget Sound. We know of two cases in 2010 of two whales, one dead already, one that ended up dying. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'They are typically known only up to Los Angeles.' Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator with the DFO, said the whale is young and just over seven metres in length. He said while this is a sad event, it gives them a chance to study these whales and learn more about them. Lots of experts came together on Friday to share their knowledge and honour the animal. Hildering said the male's death is still a mystery but there's nothing to suggest an obvious vessel strike. Story continues below advertisement 1:59 Dead grey whale washes ashore in Tofino DFO officials performed a necropsy on the whale on Friday and more tests will be undertaken in labs and samples will be sent around the world, Cottrell said. Following the necropsy and a blessing ceremony that was held on Thursday, the Namgis Nation is gifting the skeleton to the Whale Interpretive Centre, which is being rebuilt in Telegraph Cove after a devastating fire on Dec. 31. 'So the cascade of how this whale's death may count, its skeleton is going all the way to, and will be of huge significance, to the rebuild of the Whale Interpretive Centre,' Hildering said.
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
First Canadian navy vessel to visit Antarctica returns to its home port in Halifax
One of the Royal Canadian Navy's Arctic and offshore patrol ships, HMCS Margaret Brooke, is seen on patrol in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natural Resources Canada-Brent Else, *MANDATORY CREDIT* HALIFAX — A Halifax-based warship has returned to its home port after becoming the first Royal Canadian Navy vessel to visit Antarctica. HMCS Margaret Brooke, an Arctic and offshore patrol ship, left Halifax on Jan. 10. During its visit to Antarctica, the ship supported the first all-Canadian scientific research expedition to the world's southernmost continent. Officials say the research was aimed at improving the understanding of the effects of climate change, especially for those living in polar environments. The science team conducted marine and geoscience research. The team included academics and scientists from Natural Resources Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment and Climate Change Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
25-04-2025
- General
- CBC
I mourn the decline of Atlantic salmon. I need politicians who get what's at stake
This First Person column is the experience of Roger Jenkins, who lives in Storeytown, N.B. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. In the summer of 1962, I was allowed to tag along with my father on his job. He had been hired by a local association through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to haul adult salmon whose path had been blocked by a dam on the Saint John River. Our task was to scoop the salmon from a cage on the Beechwood Dam using a hand net onto the back of a five-tonne truck fitted with a water tank and transport them 50 kilometres upriver to Arthurette, N.B., on the Tobique River. We also had to deposit any lamprey (a predator of the salmon) that we found into a 170-litre drum on the deck of the dam. Why did we spend all summer doing this? A typical Atlantic salmon can leap about three metres high. So the installation of a hydroelectric dam 18 metres high on the St. John River presented an impassable obstruction. Trucking the salmon became the only option to ensure this key species returned to its spawning grounds. Returning to the ocean after spawning also presented an additional obstacle as the only way back to the ocean was over the dam spillway or through the turbine. Think of it like putting your goldfish in a blender for a few seconds. When I look back, I can't help but think of just how absurd the whole situation was to put the future of the species in the trust of a 10-year-old boy and a middle-aged man with only Grade 3 education. Now, some 60 years later, I see my old friend is in trouble again. That's why in this federal election, the management of Atlantic salmon is my ballot box issue. I was born near the Tobique River in the early 1950s and raised in the small community of Riley Brook, N.B. We had running water in the house at the time but no toilet until I was in my teens. Life was simple in those days and running across the road to catch a salmon for supper was a normal occurrence. My first summer job was at a fishing lodge. One of the lodge guests, an executive with a major resource company, felt my technical skills could be better served in the industrial divisions of the company. I became an engineer and eventually a management executive, but I continued to fish as a hobby. Fishing was also a networking tool. We'd take clients up to salmon lodges. I remember a time when I could go out and easily come back with the allowable limit on any given day. Now, as a retiree, I live beside the Miramichi River in Storeytown, N.B., but I no longer fish salmon. It's not fun to go out and stand for hours and catch nothing. WATCH | Shockingly few Atlantic salmon in N.B. rivers, says this biologist: Atlantic salmon population is in serious trouble, says fish biologist 5 months ago Duration 3:43 'The times have never been this dire,' says Tommi Linnansaari, a biology professor at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, talking about the low numbers of Atlantic salmon in the province's waterways. The last time I hooked and landed an adult female salmon full of eggs, it made me feel like a hypocrite. I had been aware for some time that salmon returns to the Miramichi were in decline and I felt I had just let the entire species down by jeopardizing her life and the future of thousands of her offspring. In my corner of New Brunswick, the Atlantic salmon is listed as a species of special concern. It's endangered in other parts of the province. As I carefully removed the hook and released her, I realized at that moment in a small way I once again held the future of the species in my hands. Salmon returns in the Miramichi River have been on a dramatic decline for some time and have accelerated dramatically since 2010. This time, the obstruction is not physical in the form of dams and is instead bureaucratic. The Miramichi Salmon Association, under the direction of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, manages and maintains a salmon barrier on the Dungarvon River. To protect them from poaching, adult salmon are held between two barriers in the river during the summer months and released to continue up the river to spawn in the fall. I live close enough to one such station and can easily visit several times during the summer using my ATV. Each trip has left me saddened and more discouraged. Under DFO management, the annual count of adult salmon returning to the barrier has steadily declined from 1,039 fish in 2011 to a mere 51 in 2024. At the same time, DFO reports that because of its successful management plan, populations of the striped bass — which eat Atlantic salmon smolt — have rebounded in the same river system from several thousand in 2010 to an estimated 500,000-plus fish in 2024. Both fish species are native to the region, but one is being protected at the expense of the other. This misguided approach of managing and promoting a predator species at the expense of a prey species is the same as releasing wolves into our northern forests and letting the caribou sort it out for themselves. I can't imagine we'd do that to either iconic species, so why should the Atlantic salmon deserve any less? To argue the Atlantic salmon is just another fish is the same as suggesting the monarch butterfly is just another bug. Its unique life cycles make it an environmental messenger — a canary in a coal mine — for the health of our oceans and rivers and we should be paying more attention. For villages, tourist operators, guides, birds, Indigenous communities and the environment, the salmon represent a way of life that cannot be easily replaced by any other species. It represents food for many people and wages for others. And, for me, losing this particular fish is like losing an old friend. The Atlantic salmon epitomizes what it means for me to be a proud Maritimer. The New Brunswick government has called on the federal government to take immediate action on the province's historically low salmon population. Too often, it feels like we have politicians who have little appreciation or understanding of what's at stake. I have yet to see any federal party put together a concrete plan for how they want to manage Canada's fisheries and the implications will ripple across Atlantic Canada. During his visit to Newfoundland and Labrador early in the campaign, federal Liberal Leader Mark Carney's first stop in St. John's was met with angry protesters who were upset with cuts to crab quotas off the northeast coast of Newfoundland. They said his party needs to do better. In Nova Scotia, the lobster industry is a cornerstone industry, and a major campaign issue. Ottawa has struggled to satisfy both commercial fishermen and Mi'kmaw communities that are asserting their treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the opening of the northern cod commercial fishery was described as a political decision. The Atlantic salmon is barely surviving and is but one painful reminder of how Ottawa needs to do better by Atlantic Canadians. I hope before it's too late, we can elect we can elect a government that ensures its fisheries minister is a knowledgeable person who creates a workable plan to protect the Atlantic salmon. Then I will feel much better about my vote.
