DEVELOPING FISH PROTECTION OBJECTIVES FOR WATER MANAGEMENT DIVERSIONS IN ALBERTA

The purpose of the project is to identify fish species and size targets for protection from entrainment at the CBRH and WH diversions based on modelling the effect of protection on Bow River fish populations. The objectives of the project are to: • Adapt Bow River Rainbow Trout cumulative effects JOE model, Bow River Rainbow Trout population model, and CBRH fish entrainment model to test the effect of multiple fish protection scenarios on Rainbow Trout entrainment and river population trajectory; • Develop cumulative effects JOE models for Brown Trout and Mountain Whitefish and test the effects of multiple fish protection scenarios; • Evaluate the utility of JOE models to analyze the effect of fish protection from entrainment and determine if alternative modeling (eg: Cumulative Effects Modelling for Priority of Recovery Actions – CEMPRA) is necessary; • If approved, develop CEMPRA models and test the effects of multiple fish protection scenarios; • Describe the effect of reduced fish entrainment at the CBRH water diversion on the size and structure of Bow River sport fish populations; • Develop fish size and species targets that can be used by provincial fisheries management and water management staff to evaluate and plan for fish protection implementation.