tangledline

February 4, 2013

Lake Winnipeg most threatened in world in 2013

'This is the red flag'

CBC News

Posted: Feb 2, 2013 3:16 PM ET

A picture from July 2010, showing blue-green algae appearing on beaches in the South Basin of Lake Winnipeg. (CBC)

Lake Winnipeg has earned a disturbing new title from the Global Nature Fund (GNF), as the Threatened Lake of 2013.

"That this huge Canadian lake is faced with problems similar to those of lakes in more densely populated countries is hard to believe," stated the organization, which is based in Berlin, Germany.

GNF, the organization that created the International Living Lakes network, chooses the most-threatened lake in the world every year. Lake Winnipeg was nominated by Living Lakes Canada.

"This is the red flag," said Vicki Burns, outreach coordinator at the Lake Winnipeg Foundation.

'[The blue-green algae is] getting so big you can see it from...outer space.'—Vicki Burns, Lake Winnipeg Foundation

Burns, along with other experts, say blue-green algae is poisoning the lake.

"They're getting so big you can see it from a satellite from outer space," Burns said.

According to the GNF, nutrients and pesticides found in agricultural run-off and sewage discharge are partly responsible for causing the toxic algae.

"It's a consequence of our lack of responsibility to take care of the environment …and the only thing I can say is — it can only get worse," said John Werring, senior science and policy advisor at the David Suzuki Foundation.

To restore the lake the pollutants will have to be removed from the water, which Burns said could take decades and could cost millions of dollars.

But the cost of not doing anything could be more devastating — a dead lake.

"I don't want people to think there's no hope for Lake Winnipeg," Burns said. "There's lots of hope and we know quite a few things we can do to turn this around. We've just got to get going and start doing them."

February 3, 2013

in retrospect i should have mentioned that the stage the lake is in ...in its lifecycle...and the fertilization runoff from agriculture...huge population increase living around the lakes, erosion are also considerable factors to the growth of bluegreen algae....please no calling for a mass kill of ducks and geese too.

yes its always about money too.

February 3, 2013

i fear the people of manitoba will pay for their love of geese and ducks.

The goose and duck poop feeds the huge algae blooms they have in their lakes.

The blue green algae blooms (cyanobacteria) on lake Winnipeg for example contain BMAA a toxin that accumulates in the Brain.

Exposure in large quantities over a long period of time BMAA is known to cause neurological diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, ALS.

These are diseases without mercy that you would not wish on your worst enemies.

For their ignorance the people of Manitoba will pay a high price.

My Father built the water filtration plant in Dauphin Manitoba because of Beaver Fever...he agrees Manitoba is again endangering the drinking water of its population by encouraging the growth of its geese and duck populations.

the lesson to be learned here is do not mess with nature's balance cause it will mess you up ten fold.

by the way shark fin contains concentrated amounts of BMAA...those who consume shark fin soup...fueling the killing of millions of sharks will also pay the heavy price.

I understand that the post and this reply are not positive in nature...sorry...but many things mankind does to nature are not positive.

February 3, 2013

Found the following disturbing.

Lets get rid of carp and bring back the geese.

Choose one over the other.

The article mentions improving the phosphorus levels well bringing back thousands of geese and their poop sure will help.

It was bad enough to interfere with the carp but to kill them for their roe seems like someone has it in for them.

Carp not welcome to live in Delta Marsh Program aims to rid invasive fish from wetland

By: Bruce Owen

Posted: 02/2/2013 1:00 AM

JOE.BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

The province, Ducks Unlimited and its partners are trying to rid Delta Marsh of invasive, habitat-destroying carp while allowing other species to thrive.

Carp Be Gone.

That's the short name for a $3.5-million program unveiled Friday by the province and Ducks Unlimited Canada to restore Delta Marsh on Lake Manitoba by stopping carp, a fat, ugly invasive fish, from getting into the marsh.

The common carp has the nasty habit of destroying habitat by rooting out sensitive marsh plants when it feeds and spawns.

The eight-year plan involves the installation of special screens installed at access points to the Lake Manitoba marsh, such as under bridges and at culverts, to keep carp out of the marsh during the spring and early summer, but allow other smaller fish such as pickerel and yellow perch to come and go without interfering with their spawning.

The plan's goals: By keeping the carp out, the marsh will rejuvenate itself for wildlife and waterfowl that have been driven out over the past 50 years. Plus, with plant life restored, the marsh will again act as a filter to help keep nutrients, such as algae-causing phosphorus, out of the lake.

"We've got to turn it around," Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh said. "There's too much at stake."

The project is the largest of its kind in North America and will be administered by Ducks Unlimited. Its announcement coincides with World Wetlands Day today. The province's contribution is $575,000. Ducks Unlimited Canada and its partners, including Wildlife Habitat Canada, are contributing $3 million for a total project contribution of $3.5 million.

Prof. Gordon Goldsborough, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Manitoba, said research over the past four years has found vegetation will recover on the 18,000-hectare marsh if carp are prevented from entering it during the late spring and summer. Carp do not overwinter there because it is too shallow.

"I'm willing to lay money we see improvement in the very first year," Goldsborough said. "I think in the long run we're going to have an understanding that will help save a lot more of the marshes of Manitoba, many which are at threat."

The screens will have metal bars spaced seven centimetres apart, allowing fish vital to commercial fishers to spawn in the marsh, but blocking the much bigger carp.

"We want bars wide enough apart that the majority of fish can pass between them," Goldsborough said.

Coupled with the carp exclusion project, the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation plan to have fishers catch the carp as they congregate by the fish screens. Their goal is to expand the market for carp roe.

"There's money to be made here for the fishermen," MMF minister of fisheries Joe Parenteau said. "It's a win-win for everyone. We can get rid of the carp that are causing the damage in the marsh."

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

Carp factoids

The common carp, native to Asia and parts of Europe, was first introduced to Manitoba in 1886 to be a cheap food source and has spread throughout the Red and Assiniboine rivers and lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba.

By 1954 they were a nuisance to commercial fishers and had little value.

Carp are large bottom-dwelling fish that take on the taste of a river or marsh bottom.

It's recognized by its small eyes, thick lips with two barbels at each corner of the mouth, large scales, and strongly serrated spines on its fins. Colour varies, but is often brassy yellow, olive green or silvery grey on its back, fading to silvery yellow on the belly.

Carp disrupt wetlands by regularly ripping up vegetation when feeding and spawning and stirring up silt and sediment, which stops sunlight from reaching other aquatic life.

The largest Manitoba carp on record was caught in 1997 from the Red River. It was 108 cm (42.5") long.

The potential value of carp is its roe, a poor man's caviar. The average price per kilogram of common carp roe in Manitoba was $2.06 in 2011.

February 3, 2013