Anglers interested in having extensive depth charts and fish population profiles of local lakes will soon have that information thanks to research by Derek Gray out of Wilfrid Laurier University.
Gray and a team of students have been studying lakes in the area, including Boot Lake, Shell Lake and Airport Lake, with plans to extend their research up to Tsiigehtchic this year, to Fort McPherson the next and from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk in the third year.
SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e trying to collect a bunch of data from each lake,SA国际影视传媒� said Gray. SA国际影视传媒淭here doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 seem to be much information on the fish species that are present in those lakes, how abundant they are, how many you can find in the lakes.SA国际影视传媒�
The idea is to eventually be able to share depth data, fish data and water quality data with people in the region.
Gray was surprised at the diverse fish population in Boot Lake.
SA国际影视传媒淟ocal fishermen probably know this, but there are a lot of whitefish in the lake and very large pike,SA国际影视传媒� said Gray. SA国际影视传媒淲e caught one pike that was 17 pounds from that lake, which I think any fisherman would be happy to pull in.SA国际影视传媒�
Some of the other lakes, such as Shell Lake, donSA国际影视传媒檛 seem to have such a diverse population. Shell has mostly pike with some pond smelt, he said.
SA国际影视传媒淏oot Lake has really been interesting for us because it had such a high abundance of fish present in the lake.SA国际影视传媒�
He and his team take about 20 fish fillets per lake to send back to the lab for analysis for mercury and other heavy metals.
Gray was also surprised to find zero fish life in some of the smaller lakes along the Dempster Highway. He attributes that possibly to those lakes freezing completely over during winter with no room for fish to survive.
For the bigger lakes, the ice surface in winter acts as an insulator.
SA国际影视传媒淭he fish have pretty slow metabolism for the winter,SA国际影视传媒� said Gray. SA国际影视传媒淭hey donSA国际影视传媒檛 eat quite as much as they do in the summer months, and theySA国际影视传媒檒l hang out usually at the bottom of the lake, insulated from the harsh winter weather.SA国际影视传媒�
Water is densest at four degrees.
SA国际影视传媒淲aterSA国际影视传媒檚 a weird substance,SA国际影视传媒� said Gray. SA国际影视传媒淲hen it freezes at zero degrees it floats like an ice cube, but when itSA国际影视传媒檚 exactly four degrees itSA国际影视传媒檚 the heaviest. So that four-degree water sits on the bottom of the lake and the fish can hang out there.SA国际影视传媒�
The lakes of the region seem free from some of the agricultural runoff present in southern lakes, he added.
Much of GraySA国际影视传媒檚 work is centred around any impact climate change will have on local lakes. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 establishing a baseline of information now that can be referred to in the future.
