Aeration of trout lakes may end
 

Folks.

Due to a court case, open water holes left by anyone may result on manslaughter charges.
For that reason. the ACA is attempting to find a solution to aeration that will not create an open water pool.
The companies they are talking to either have expensive or untried solutions.

I reviewed the lakes that will be lost in the Rocky area alone.

To understand the problem, here is what is left

Birch - winterkill probable
Beaver - winter kill probable
Fiesta - winter kill complete
Ironside Pond - winter kill complete
Alford Lake - winter kill complete
Mitchell - winter kill very possible

Struble Lake - perched
Phylsis Lake - perched
Twin Lake - perched
Cow Lake - perched
Tay Lake - perched

Perched means the lake has been illegally stocked with perch thereby decreasing trout growth to near 0.


Leaving us with

Peppers Lake - tiny trout
Goldeye Lake - tiny trout
Fish Lake - tiny trout

Loss of the aerated lakes will hit hard.

I contacted Todd Zimmerling CEO of the ACA to find out what they intended to do. They are working with some companies in an effort to get some type of aeration systems installed. The ones Todd mentioned are costly and untried in Alberta.

So - put on your thinking caps - how would you aerate a lake w/o creating an open water pool?


regards,


Don

Its Sec 263(1) of the Criminal Code. BC has currently stopped aeration.

I am not joking when I say this but... Could sterile grass carp be the solution? I mean, a lot of oxygen depletion comes from vegetation decomposition. And although we are introducing these species into select lakes (maybe one to start off with for an test), the damage they may do is only short term if it is not successful.
You can say vegetation is a habit for aquatic insects, and this reduction will throw the ecosystem off for a bit in sure, but none of the stocked lakes are natural fish populations, so why not for an experiment.

I'm just bsing here so don't take my comment too seriously, but it's something to think about.

I had never heard of this before now:

Just put up signs that are legible and clearly stated as warnings. If that fails, then Darwin wins again!

I've had my thinking cap on since yesterday

http://www.hark.com/clips/pbqrsvclsj...othing-happens

It is frustrating to think that this is actually being entertained. There is only so many ways to aerate a lake...that is an undertaking in itself. I'm all for better and more signage. I would say float a retrievable one in the open water itself but no doubt someone would go out to read the sign and fall victom anyways. I'm more hoping that once things calm down and some time passes that this idiotic notion will go away.

Just seems ridiculous when you think beyond our aerated lakes to ice fishing. So...the ones that leave multiple holes behind from their day fishing...say in later March when the holes do not refreeze...would be potentially liable? Maybe they should sue mother nature for taking away the "safe" ice every April. That'll teach her!

This may not be popular.

But here goes anyway, do not allow any activities on the ice.

Not good for the ice fishermen but may allow for aeration and allow the fish to over winter.

Exactly what Huntsfurfish said. Close all lakes that have aeration on them from say Oct 30 until May sometime. No ice fishing allowed period. Don do you know how many lakes would be affected by such a ban?

some of those lakes are already closed to ice fishing. liability is the concern so I doubt its even being considered.

I mean if they ban ice fishing on a pond like ironside, I don't see why people would go skating on it anyways. I don't see why they can't start banning trespassing on lakes with pumps.

No trespassing on aerated lakes
 

Simple. Do it.
Who do we have to write?

I'm with you guys. Why would anyone even consider an ice activity on an aerated lake is beyond me. Make it a ticketable offense if caught...

Also, there were some good "out of box" thinking on this done on the Calgary Fly Fishing forum.

http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/inde...howtopic=23003

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. I like the above ideas along with the ban on ice activities on aerated lakes.

Can't we use the same method we use on land, fence the "dangerous" open hole area. Attached signs and floating device to each fence section so that should the ice melt all sections are retrievable.

The whole topic reeks like a lame excuse to cut costs.. Aeration has occured for 100+ years without incident and all of a sudden its an issue? Read this http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/inde...howtopic=22984
Pretty sure they put up signs currently? To me thats adequate warning..

I am assuming something did happen as the very first line of don's post is "due to a court case"

Attachment 112474

How about using a simple air compressor and some PVC pipe with small holes drilled into it. You could run a section of PVC pipe without holes in it say 100 yards out into the lake. Then have another section of PVC with fine holes drilled into it that would allow a limited amount of air to escape - similar to a garden hose with a fine spray of water coming from it. The PVC pipe would be hooked up to an air compressor which would pressurize the system with air and release small amount of air down the section of PVC with small holes to regulate the amount of air escaping from it. The PVC pipe would need to be anchored to the bottom of the lake to hold it from floating to the top.

If this regulated air escaping was to be released into the water at say 20feet of depth, I think the air would naturally filter through holes in the ice similar to the natural carbon dioxide being dissolved in normal lakes. The air would be released to dissolve in the water, and I think the water would still freeze over solid if the section of PVC pipe distributed the air over a large enough area.

Tests would need to be conducted to see what amount of air could be released into the water that could naturally be filtered through the ice, while still allowing the water to completely freeze over, thus eliminating any open water.

See quick illustration for the picture I see in my head.

Not sure if this solution would really work, but food for thought for you all.

Not a bad idea but more likely to work for a pond than a lake. We already have aeration stones that can get down to pretty fine air being dispersed. Better for ponds as well. The point of the current aeration is dispersed oxygen throughout the water column. Like air stones, PVC would likely just stir up the dead water at the bottom and send it up...which in turn would impact any good water left....

I'm no expert but that was my understanding based on the reading I did. By the way, did try air stones personally and seemed okay in small applications. It sure created stinky water the first year...

How about a system that pumps the de-oxygenated water from the lake to a onshore oxygenation device and then pumps the O2 water back into the lake. These two lines (intake and output) could be installed from the shoreline which would leave the ice to develop normally. The O2 water would be released over the length of a pipe laying on the bottom or suspended to a decided depth. The water being oxygenated probably wouldn't compromise the ice like larger air bubbles.

Signs at access points, or they can even use concrete pilings and put year round signs in to warn of the aerators in the water. shouldn't be difficult...

The problem with many of the suggestions is that section 263 of the Criminal Code does not provide for a due diligence defense. Regardless of the precautions, warnings or barriers implemented, if someone falls into the hole and dies those who created the hole (ACA) are guilty of manslaughter. Even if he or she does not die but suffers personal or property damage despite all your precautions those causing the hole in the ice are subject to possible criminal charges.

This has implications too for tiger trout stocking. Fisheries cannot reasonably stock tiger trout in Muir, Beaver, Ironside and Kerbe's as planned i those lakes will not now be aerated.
Peter

I think I have a solution. The idea is simple but the logistics are not. Make the property around the lake private property of the ACA. They could post the property in the off season, therefore no liability if done according to the law and no real cost.
Now how would AEP handle the land transfer? Big problem.

What do you think?

As PeterSL points out, barriers and signage are not adequate. While on ice activities include ice fishing, other activities also occur including snow machines, quads, car/bike racing, skating, ice sailing.
The only solutions that will work do not create open waterholes.

To this point, there are two possible solutions both of which are quick and dirty with the added feature of proven track record.

1) a vacuum truck blowing down a small hole was capable of keeping Spring Lake near Hythe, AB alive. The truck was used as required.

2) I heard of an segment on Discovery where a machine cobbled together worked to keep two lakes alive in eastern Canada. The machine consisted of an engine, a jet ski pump &some type of Venturi. The suction and discharge piping were separated allowing circulation.

The above two items will be passed along to the ACA.

And just so you realize the issue, the Provincial Govt. has disabled the compressor and removed the electrical equipment feeding the compressor motor at Alford Lake. This aeration project was done by private individuals with the only contribution was electrical power provided by the Govt.

Keeping your ideals coming. The above two were as a result of conversations on Beaver Lake.

Regards,

Don

Before anything is decided,the water from the lakes should be tested to see what the root of the problem is,meaning what is causing the depleation of oxygen or is it even a oxygen issue.Perhaps ammonia buildup is the cause of the winterkill.
Something that may be considered as well is to run the aeration hard all summer long,increase the amount of pumps and diffusers and get the water super saturated.Introduce benificial bacteria's to control phos,nitrogen as well as ammonia.Once ice comes ,shut the air system off and continue using the bacteria all winter long.
I have a small lake that is about 8.8 acres that I have been doing this in and have had no death loss over winter.The water has about 11.68 ppm of oxygen in it right now.Weed growth is slim to none and the trout are doing well in it.Bacteria has been added every couple of weeks.There is about 2500ish trout in there that will avg 5lbs.The pond gets about 60lbs of feed a day,so lots of manure meaning lots of phos,ammonia and nitrogen.With the application of bacteria and a product called Pond Zilla to control organic matter,this pond does not get aeration over winter,with,as I said,no death loss.I have done this now for 3 years.Might be something to consider
NW

The problem is the weed growth in our small potholes, and lack of depth. As the weeds die off and the ice forms, there is some serious anaerobic decomposition,
using up what little oxygen remains in the lake after the ice forms. Thus leaving no oxygen for the trout, and winter kill occurs.

I am gonna be very sad if they, the powers that be, discontinue the aeration on these lakes.
I fish Muir lake a fair amount, and it is a great fishery close to home. To see these beauty trout dead will be a bummer.

I would be totally up for some pay for play trout lakes around Edmonton, make it private so the government can't control it.

Morgan,
Reward Aquatic Herbicide and Pondzilla(mixed) will totally take care of the weed issue,both above and below the surface,provided proper application techniques are used.The combination is safe for fish and really works!!!!!

Let's get the ACA and the province on board, and give it a go,
Thanks for your reply
PM sent

The problem with that is that the weeds are what make the oxygen in the first place. No weeds, no oxygen.
oxygen depletion only happens when the weeds die through lack of sunshine(covered by snow) and then regenrate in the spring.

Also the decomposition of the weeds absorbs oxygen (bacteria and organisms require for respiration)and releases CO2 into the system. So the more weeds in the summer, the more decomposed and create a harsher climate without added air circulation.

Just have a floating barrier that encompasses the area of aeration. It can stay there year round.

This would not be a short term fix and would take some time but how about hiring a lawyer to challenge this ridiculous (Section 263 (1) ) code?

I would be willing to put up a few dollars to fight this ruling.

I'm deeply saddened by this turn of events. How many thousands of dollars invested in hatchery trout will be lost in stocked aerated lakes? It is extremely disturbing that we need more laws in place to protect us from our own ignorance and stupidity.


Stan