getasheep
10-09-2007, 04:05 PM
Poachers beware: U of A scientist on case
Grad student tracks walleye DNA to track down pilfered fish
Hanneke Brooymans
edmontonjournal.com
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
EDMONTON - Poachers who think their trail has gone cold by the time the fish is in the freezer could be foiled by new DNA work underway at the University of Alberta.
Graduate student Lindsey Burke is analyzing hundreds of DNA samples from walleye caught across the province. When she's finished, the database she compiles could help fish and wildlife officers figure out where fish were caught without having to mount expensive undercover operations.
Burke spent four years doing forensic work for the RCMP out of a busy Vancouver division before she decided a master's degree would help advance her career.
Despite being a self-described "city girl," she was hooked by the walleye project because of its potential for practical applications, she said.
Burke will extract DNA from walleye fins. She will study a specific region of the DNA and come up with distinct genetic profiles for walleye from each location. The samples came from 11 lakes and two sites along the Athabasca River.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development is providing Burke with lab space, equipment and funds because of the potential for the database she will develop. They will be able to pluck pickerel from a poacher's freezer and match it to samples in the database. If they find fish from a lake where the walleye fishery is closed, the officers have a strong case. The same goes for large numbers of walleye that come from a lake with no commercial walleye fishery.
Walleye are arguably the province's tastiest fish. This makes them a popular catch among Alberta's 300,000 anglers. It also makes them a favorite in restaurants, a frequent point of sale for poachers.
"There is significant trafficking of walleye in the province," said Richard Jobin, a forensic DNA specialist with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.
Jobin knows the power of DNA evidence: he is frequently called upon to testify in illegal big-game hunting cases. The conviction rate is extremely high when they have a DNA match, he said. Jobin could recall only one case in which he was involved that was lost, and that was due to a technicality and not related to the DNA evidence.
The walleye database will also make fish and wildlife officers more efficient, land more guilty pleas and save valuable court time, he predicted.
"I would think just the presence of such a test would act as a strong deterrent to someone thinking of running such an operation," he said.
Burke's data will also help the province monitor how well its stocking program is working in any particular lake. "Are they surviving or are we just feeding the local fish that are there?" Jobin said.
Burke said the DNA tests will show if fish from one lake survive better than others when they're used to stock other lakes.
The Alberta Fish and Game Association likes the fact that the DNA analysis will both protect and potentially help increase the population of the most sought-after game fish in Alberta.
"I think anything we can do to protect fish and wildlife from poachers is good," said Maurice Nadeau, association president. "DNA is the way most crimes are being solved these days so why not use it to protect our fish and wildlife as well?"
Burke's work is also being funded by the Alberta Conservation Association and the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
hbrooymans@thejournal.canwest.com
© Edmonton Journal 2007
Grad student tracks walleye DNA to track down pilfered fish
Hanneke Brooymans
edmontonjournal.com
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
EDMONTON - Poachers who think their trail has gone cold by the time the fish is in the freezer could be foiled by new DNA work underway at the University of Alberta.
Graduate student Lindsey Burke is analyzing hundreds of DNA samples from walleye caught across the province. When she's finished, the database she compiles could help fish and wildlife officers figure out where fish were caught without having to mount expensive undercover operations.
Burke spent four years doing forensic work for the RCMP out of a busy Vancouver division before she decided a master's degree would help advance her career.
Despite being a self-described "city girl," she was hooked by the walleye project because of its potential for practical applications, she said.
Burke will extract DNA from walleye fins. She will study a specific region of the DNA and come up with distinct genetic profiles for walleye from each location. The samples came from 11 lakes and two sites along the Athabasca River.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development is providing Burke with lab space, equipment and funds because of the potential for the database she will develop. They will be able to pluck pickerel from a poacher's freezer and match it to samples in the database. If they find fish from a lake where the walleye fishery is closed, the officers have a strong case. The same goes for large numbers of walleye that come from a lake with no commercial walleye fishery.
Walleye are arguably the province's tastiest fish. This makes them a popular catch among Alberta's 300,000 anglers. It also makes them a favorite in restaurants, a frequent point of sale for poachers.
"There is significant trafficking of walleye in the province," said Richard Jobin, a forensic DNA specialist with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.
Jobin knows the power of DNA evidence: he is frequently called upon to testify in illegal big-game hunting cases. The conviction rate is extremely high when they have a DNA match, he said. Jobin could recall only one case in which he was involved that was lost, and that was due to a technicality and not related to the DNA evidence.
The walleye database will also make fish and wildlife officers more efficient, land more guilty pleas and save valuable court time, he predicted.
"I would think just the presence of such a test would act as a strong deterrent to someone thinking of running such an operation," he said.
Burke's data will also help the province monitor how well its stocking program is working in any particular lake. "Are they surviving or are we just feeding the local fish that are there?" Jobin said.
Burke said the DNA tests will show if fish from one lake survive better than others when they're used to stock other lakes.
The Alberta Fish and Game Association likes the fact that the DNA analysis will both protect and potentially help increase the population of the most sought-after game fish in Alberta.
"I think anything we can do to protect fish and wildlife from poachers is good," said Maurice Nadeau, association president. "DNA is the way most crimes are being solved these days so why not use it to protect our fish and wildlife as well?"
Burke's work is also being funded by the Alberta Conservation Association and the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
hbrooymans@thejournal.canwest.com
© Edmonton Journal 2007